


Would you Still Love me? (Who am I?)

by jmlp



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gang World, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Mob, Alternate universe - Mafia, Angst, Basketball, Blood and Violence, Drinking, Friends to Lovers, Gangs, Jeno and Johnny are Brothers, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun & Suh Youngho | Johnny Are Best Friends, Lee Jeno is Whipped, M/M, Mafia NCT, Marijuana, Slow Burn, Smoking, Soft Na Jaemin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:02:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25443604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jmlp/pseuds/jmlp
Summary: The story of Lee Jeno, the son of the leader of Seoul's biggest crime organization, as he maneuvers life as a high school student.orAnother Nomin mafia au
Relationships: Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Kim Jungwoo/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 13
Kudos: 119





	1. Chapter 1

_Age seven_

"Shoot him."

Jeno stares at the man kneeling at his feet, stomach turning. Blood trickles down the man's throat, drawing attention to the colourful bruises decorating his throat. The gun shakes in Jeno's hands and he tightens his grip on it, fearing his father seeing even a trace of cowardice. 

"Are you fucking deaf?" His father growls. "I said shoot him."

Jeno raises the gun to the kneeling man's forehead, hands wobbly and slick with sweat. The man notices and grins bloodily. 

"He's a kid. A fucking kid and you have him doing shit like this." The man laughs, bloody teeth gleaming in the dim lighting of the room. "Dongmin, you crazy bastard."

Jeno's father grits his teeth and walks over to the centre of the room, snatching the gun from Jeno's hands. "You never know when to shut your mouth, do you, Jihoon?" 

Jihoon grins, eyes dangerously bright for a man so close to death. "And you never know who to trust, do you, Dongmin? You built your empire on lies and betrayal. How does your own medicine taste?" He spits blood onto Dongmin's clean, polished shoes, baring his teeth like a wild animal.

Jeno flinches at the loud noise the gun makes as his father puts a bullet between Jihoon's eyes, watching the battered man fall backwards. A puddle of blood grows around his lifeless body, staining the clean beige carpet a brilliant crimson red. Jeno watches with wide eyes, a feeling similar to nausea thrashing in the pit of his stomach.

Dongmin grabs Jeno's chin, forcing his son's head up. "Next time you fucking hesitate to obey my orders, that'll be you painting my floor red." He whips the gun harshly against Jeno's cheek and promptly exits the room, not before whispering something to the worker at the door. Jeno clutches his cheek, a stinging pain making his ears ring as he watches his father walk through the large doors of his office. The worker's gaze lingers on Jeno for a moment before he pulls his phone to his ear, no doubt calling someone to clean the mess up. Jeno thinks his name is Yuta. He couldn’t be much older than Jeno himself but he can't remember, can't think clearly when there's a lifeless body at his feet. Jihoon's glassy eyes seem to stare straight at Jeno, almost accusing. 

Eyes burning and throat itching, Jeno quickly dashes out of the office, through the overly extravagant foyer and into his bedroom. The door to his room slams shut and Jeno slides down the length of it into a crouch, cradling his head in his arms. 

Through his uneven breaths and quivering heart, all Jeno wants is his father.

_Age ten_

Quick steps echo through the empty hallways as Jeno dashes to his parents' room. A flyer for the summer carnival that he'd found while out in the city with Johnny waves from his hands. Jeno comes to a stop in front of the grand doors of his parents' bedroom, hand raised to knock before he overhears his name.

"You and I both know he doesn't have what it takes." His mother's voice filters through the wooden doors. "Jeno has a soft heart."

He hears his father scoff. "Then I suppose we should train him harder, not send him to fucking high school. Public high school, at that!"

"You and I both know Jeno can't take over after you. That's why we have Johnny. Let Jeno go to school, let him make friends." His mother pleads.

Jeno stiffens at the mention of his older brother's name. He dips his head down to stare at his feet, shame and embarrassment warming his body. The carnival flyer lays forgotten on the rug of the hallway.

"Do you think we're a nice, normal family, Jooyhun? You think we live in the suburbs in a modest house with a white picket fence?" Dongmin laughs. "We have an empire beneath our feet. We lead a whole crime organization in our path. We need not only Johnny, but Jeno as well to fill our shoes when we're inevitably gone."

Jeno's mother slams her fist onto the wall. "He hasn't even killed a man yet. Johnny made his first kill at 8. Show a little fucking empathy for your son for once in life and realize that the world doesn't revolve around just you and me anymore! We have a family, though it may be unconventional. I love my sons and I would appreciate it if you would stop treating them like any other worker."

Jeno shakes from behind the door and runs away, down the hallway he came from. The loud sounds of his stomping feet alert his parents from inside the room. 

"You know he loves you." Joohyun spits at her husband. "He loves you so much but you scare the living shit out of your own son."

Later that night, Jeno sleeps in his mother's arms, warm and protected by her presence. He can't help but wish his father were present as well.

_Age fifteen_

Jeno adjusts his backpack as he waits in the foyer of the mansion for his mother. 

"I can't believe they're sending you to Crestview." Johnny laughs, ruffling the hair on his little brother's head. 

"You went to Crestview, too." Jeno sticks his tongue out, childishly. 

Johnny rolls his eyes. "Yeah, and our parents regretted it. Said it wasted precious time where I could've been training. Pulled me out a year ago in sophomore year. I'm surprised mom managed to convince dad to enrol us."

"Never underestimate your mother." Joohyun calls from this stairs, walking down with her husband trailing just behind her. "Are you ready to go, Jeno?"

Jeno nods, eyes wide as he rarely sees the whole family together. "Yes!"

Joohyun smiles warmly at her youngest son. "Alright, let's get going then. Mr. Park is waiting to drive us down at the car. Let's not keep him waiting."

As the trio makes their way out of the mansion, Jeno lags behind. 

"You're not coming?" Jeno asks his brother.

Johnny shakes his head. "Nah, I gotta do some shit for dad first. I'll be there around lunch."

Jeno pouts, picking at the skin on the edge of his fingernails. "Okay."

"Jeno!" His mother calls from the Rolls Royce parked at the entrance of their driveway. "Come on!"

"Is it good?" Jeno asks Johnny, eyes filled with curiosity.

"What, high school? It's amazing." Johnny grins, before pushing his brother towards to car. "Go! You're going to be late!"

Jeno bounces his way to the car, sliding in the back seat with his parents. 

"All right, let's get going, Mr. Park." His father orders. The driver nods and takes off on the long, winding driveway of the Lee estate.

Jeno's mother looks down at her son. "You excited, baby?"

Jeno nods enthusiastically. 

"It'll only be a matter of time before people start to find out." His father says, peering out the tinted windows. "Then it'll be too dangerous for you to keep attending. Don't get too attached."

"Oh, shut up." Joohyun rolls her eyes. "Johnny was fine."

"Johnny's smart and he only lasted a year and a bit." Dongmin retorts, sharp eyes glancing over at Jeno. _And you're stupid._ Jeno knows what his father is really trying to say. "I don't understand why you think this is a good idea, letting them back into public school. He basically spits the words.

As the Rolls Royce pulls into the parking lot of Crestview Secondary, all of Jeno's excitement is gone, replaces by nervous jitters and the desire for his father's validation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is simply a quick backstory for Jeno. The good shit will start soon! The few chapters are to set a foundation for the story. This is the first work I've made. Apologies if it's not the best! I really wrote this quickly to get the idea out of my head. I don't have an uploading schedule but I'll update this work whenever I can. Feel free to give feedback~~~


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time Jaemin meets Jeno.

Jaemin remembers seeing Jeno for the first time like it was yesterday. 

It was the beginning of sophomore year, cliques and friend groups already established. Jaemin was at the courtyard with his friends, 15 minutes before the first bell, when a sleek Rolls Royce pulls up to the school. Expensive cars were no surprise to the teens, as majority of the school's population were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. 

This car, however, no one had seen before. No one one knew the owner either.

"Yo, Jaemin!" Mark calls. "Did you hear what I said?"

Jaemin blinks, snapping out of his daze. "Uh-no. What?"

Donghyuck rolls his eyes and rests his arms on Mark's shoulders. "There's a rumour going around that Seo's back."

"Seo?" Jaemin's eyes widen in shock. "Like, Johnny Seo?"

"Yeah." The corner of Mark's mouth lifts into a smirk. "The one and only."

Jaemin has never seen the infamous guy in person, only stories from classmates a year older, like Mark. "He's a senior now, right?"

Mark hums. "Yep."

"Speaking of Seo, I haven't seen the Gang around today." Donghyuck says, lying down in the grass next to the school's glass entrance.

Jaemin can't help but laugh at the name. Johnny Seo and his friend group earned themselves the label from their intimidating presence, but Jaemin can't help but think it's a little tacky. "Oooh, the _Gang_!"

Donghyuck scoffs. "It's just a name"

Jaemin giggles. "It's lame."

"They think it's funny too." Mark laughs. Jaemin often forgets that Mark knows the seniors, due to his popularity. 

"Guys!"

The group looks over and sees Jisung running towards them, Chenle following him. 

"Jisung! Chenle!" Jaemin calls. 

Jisung stops in front of them, settling into the grass. 

"Our little babies are in high school now~" Donghyuck teases. 

Chenle sniffs. "Shut up, Hyuck. We're only a year younger than you guys."

"Still my babies!" Jaemin squeals, reaching to pinch the younger duo's cheeks. They scramble away. "Aw, come here!"

Suddenly, the sound of a door slamming shut echoes through the courtyard. Students look at the source of the noise in curiosity. 

A boy stands in front of the Rolls Royce, head held high. Jaemin can't help but think he's handsome, in a regal way. 

He's wearing his uniform properly, unlike Jaemin and his friends whose ties were loose, jackets discarded in the grass.

As the boy makes his way into the school, the eyes of the students in the courtyard linger on his back.

"Who is _that_?" Donghyuck whispers, looking at Mark. 

Mark looks just as confused. "I dunno...transfer student?"

Jaemin watches the boy through the glass entrance of the school until he's out of sight. "Wow."

"Wow indeed." Jisung agrees, eyebrows raised. "Quite an entrance. Do you think he's a freshman?"

Donghyuck laughs loudly. "Nah, no way. Maybe a junior?"

Jaemin agrees, judging from the boys mature features. "He's hot."

The group dissolves into giggles and they scramble to grab their jackets and backpacks when the bell rings.

To say Jaemin is surprised to see the mysterious boy in his first block science class would be an understatement.

The bells rings, signalling the end of first period. 

As Jeno pulls his books into his bag, he watches as a pen roll to his feet. 

"Oh, my bad."

Jeno looks up to see a boy, caramel hair and a blinding smile. "Uh-here." Jeno picks the pen up and hands it to him. 

"Thank! I'm Jaemin." The boy says, grin still wide on his face. 

Jeno flushes. "I'm Jeno." He follows Jaemin out of the classroom. 

"I haven't seen you before. Are you new?" Jaemin asks. 

"Yeah. Actually this is my first time in public school." Jeno scratches the back of his head shyly. 

Jaemin's jaw drops. "What?"

Jeno nods. "I've been homeschooled since like, forever."

"But how did you make friends?" Jaemin wonders. 

"I-I just didn't?" Jeno flushes again, ears bright red. 

Jaemin smiles. The mysterious boy was a lot more timid than he had expected. "Does this make me your first friend?"

"..Kind of?"

Jaemin beams and wraps his arm around Jeno's shoulder. "Sick! What class do you have next?"

Jeno startles at the physical contact. "English."

"Aw, I've got math." Jaemin pouts. "I'll save you a seat in the cafeteria for lunch if you want?"

Jeno looks around nervously. "Uh, I'll probably sit with my brother, actually."

Jaemin's smile falters. "Ah, ok. See you around then?"

Jeno nods, offering a hesitant smile and Jaemin waves before heading towards his next block.

As he makes his way down the hall, Jaemin hopes he's made a new friend. The other boy seemed sweet, despite his intimidating exterior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I didn't think I would post this today but I guess I'm on a roll. Hope y'all enjoy! Sorry if there are errors, I'm not great at proofreading and my brain's too quick for my hands. Feel free to leave feedback~~~
> 
> -jmlp <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time people found out Johnny and Jeno are brothers.

Jaemin is loudly conversing with Donghyuck when the cafeteria turns silent. 

The entrance swings open, revealing a tall boy, hair covering his face mysteriously. His posture is pin straight and he carries his head tall as he walks to the empty table located at the centre of the cafeteria. "Hey, Hyuck, isn't that where the G-"

"The Gang." Donghyuck gasps, staring at the group of boys trailing after the tall leader, conversing among themselves. "Holy shit. Johnny's back."

"Johnny's back, indeed." Mark smirks, getting up, no doubt to greet said boy. 

Jaemin's eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. "So that's Johnny Seo, huh."

The boy undeniably had the air of a leader around him, steps strong and calculated. Jaemin and his friends watch in silence as Mark makes his way to Johnny's table, greeting him with a fist bump. As the rest of the Gang, as Hyuck likes to call them, settles down at the table, Jaemin startles. "Oh my fucking god."

"What?" Jisung asks, eyebrows furrowed. 

Jaemin points at a boy at the table. "That's Jeno!"

Chenle looks up from his phone. "Who the hell is Jeno?"

"Oh my god, the new kid." Donghyuck murmurs. "Why is he sitting with them?"

"Wait, how do you know his name?" Jisung glares at Jaemin. 

"Chill." Jaemin answers. "I had science with him first block." He thinks back at the conversation he had with Jeno. "He mentioned eating lunch with his brother. Who is his brother?"

"What's his last name?" Donghyuck asks, leaning forward across the table in curiosity. 

"Uh.." Jaemin thinks back to roll call. "I think it's Lee."

"Like Lee Taeyong then." Donghyuck determines, leaning back on his chair. 

"What about Taeyong?" Marks asks, standing behind Donghyuck and messing with his hair. 

Donghyuck knocks Mark's hands away from his head. "Oh, you're back. Quit it, will you?"

"Is the new kid Taeyong's brother?" Jisung asks, bouncing in his seat. 

Mark raises his eyebrows. "Who? Jeno?" Everyone nods.

"Nah, he's Johnny's little bro."

"What the fuck? Johnny has a little brother?" "But Jeno's last name is Lee!" "Jaemin already talked to the new kid!"

"Woah, woah, woah." Mark raises both his hands in mock surrender as he takes a seat. "Chill out. Johnny introduced Jeno as his little brother, that's all I know."

"Maybe step-brothers." Chenle muses, his chin resting on the palm of his hand. 

"And what's this about you being friends with Jeno?" Mark asks Jaemin, turning to look at the younger boy. 

Jaemin rolls his eyes. "We're not friends...yet. Jisung was just being dramatic. We had one class together a few hours ago and talked for a maximum of 2 minutes. I would hardly call us best buddies."

"Still." Jisung sighs. "I wanna be friends with him. He seems so cool."

"Oh Jisung," Donghyuck crows, patting the freshman's head. "That's not how high school works. We don't get to be friends with everybody."

"What about Mark?" Jisung whines.

Donghyuck glances at his boyfriend. "Mark's an exception. He's scarily extroverted and I'm honestly surprised so many people tolerate him."

Mark splutters indignantly. "Fuck off."

Jaemin giggles. "You're just jealous, Hyuck."

"As if." Donghyuck scoffs, flipping Jaemin off. "Anyways, back to Jeno. So he's a sophomore like us, I assume."

"I mean, yeah." Jaemin nods. "He was in my class."

"What was he like?" Jisung prods.

"I don't know. Kind of shy, honestly."

"No way." Jisung huffs.

"Why are you guys so interested in him anyways?" Chenle wonders, still tapping away at the game on his phone. 

"Because he's Johnny fucking Seo's brother." Jisung replies. 

"Language!" Jaemin shrieks, smacking the back of Jisung's head with the spoon he's holding. 

"Ow! Fuck!" Jisung yells, rubbing his skull. "Stop babying me, you're literally a year older than me."

Jaemin narrows his eyes and points the spoon threateningly at Jisung. "Exactly. Listen to your elders."

Jisung rolls his eyes before digging back into his lunch.

When Jeno exits his English class, he's greeted by the sight of his brother leaning on the wall across from him. 

"Johnny!" Jeno makes his way to the older boy, grinning. 

Johnny casually grabs Jeno by the shoulders and guides them through the halls. "What's up, lil bro? I'm here to escort you to lunch."

"Why aren't you wearing your blazer?" Jeno stares at Johnny's button up. "That violates dress code."

Johnny throws his head back to laugh. "The staff couldn't give a smaller fuck about dress code. Come on." 

The duo come to a stop in front a group of boys, who Jeno vaguely recognizes. They all aren't wearing their uniforms properly, blazer either hanging from their arms or tied around their shoulders. Jeno picks at the sleeves of his own blazer, wondering if he should take his off.

"What's up, bitches?" Johnny greets, hands moving from Jeno's shoulders to give everyone high fives. 

"Johnny's BACK!" Lucas yells. Jeno vaguely remembers him as the loud giant that had played on the basketball team with Johnny a few years back. "You thinking of joining this years team?"

"Of course." Johnny grins, slapping Lucas' ass. "Hope you give up your captain title willingly."

"Anything for Johnnyboy." 

"Hey, Jeno." A voice calls out. Jeno looks up to see Taeyong and Jungwoo standing in front of him. 

Jeno exhales in relief at a more familiar face and moves closer to his brother's boyfriend. "Hey, Taeyong."

"How are you liking Crestview so far?" Taeyong asks, gently moving Jeno's hair out of his face.

"It's okay."

Jungwoo hums. "Made any friends yet?"

Jeno flushes. "Sort of?"

"Sort of? What does that mean?" Johnny says from behind them. 

"Ah.." Jeno fiddles with the patch on his uniform blazer. "I don't know, I talked to some guy in my science class."

"What's his name?" Lucas asks.

"Jaemin."

Jaehyun raises is eyebrows. "Jaemin Na?"

"Y-yeah, I think so." Jeno stares at the senior's shoes. He always though Jaehyun was a little intimidating.

"Do you know him, Jae?" Doyoung murmurs, snaking his arms around his boyfriend's waist.

Jaehyun makes an affirmative noise at the back of his throat. "I coached him on the freshman basketball team last year."

"Wow, coaching, huh?" Johnny questions, smirk on his lips. "Who would have thought bench-warmer Jaehyun now coaches?"

Jaehyun smacks Johnny's arm. "Fuck off, Seo, that was one game."

The group is loud as they make their way into the cafeteria. 

Jeno doesn't miss the way everyone stopped talking when they enter and he huddles against Taeyong's side.

Doyoung and Taeyong lead him to the table, sandwiching him between them.

He glances around the room, spotting Jaemin sitting with his own friends. Their eyes meet for a millisecond before Jeno tears his gaze away, the old oak table suddenly interesting. 

"You get used to it." Doyoung whispers into Jeno's ear and he flinches. Doyoung places a calming hand on his back.

"Oi! What're you whispering about?" Johnny says. Jeno notices a shorter boy next to his brother, but his face doesn't ring a bell.

"You." Doyoung teases. 

Johnny rolls his eyes. "Jeno, this is Mark." He gestures towards to boy next to him. "Mark, this is my brother Jeno."

Mark looks surprised. "Brother? You never mentioned a brother, Seo."

"Topic never came up." Johnny shrugs. 

"I see." Mark nods. "You gonna join the team this year?"

"I asked him that already!" Lucas yells from his spot next to Jungwoo, who's resting his head on Lucas' shoulder.

"Yes, I am." Johnny beams. Jeno wonders how Johnny will have time for basketball, considering the increased preparation their father has been putting them through. They both don't know why they've been ordered to train so often, but the training room has become almost a second home to Jeno.

"That's great! I'm trying to get into the senior team this year." 

"Ambitious, eh? You'll make it, no doubt." Johnny knocks his shoulder into Mark. Jeno's always surprised by his brother's demeanour around his friend group. Normally intimidating and scary, a new side of Johnny is shown towards his friends and family. 

Johnny's just a big dork, Jeno huffs, not understanding why so many people are staring. What's so interesting?

"Aight, well I'm gonna get back to my lunch. See you around?" Mark smiles.

Both Johnny and Jeno wave, though Jeno is noticeably shyer. 

Johnny takes a seat across from him. "I met Mark on the basketball team. He was a freshman then."

Jeno hums, eyes still scanning the room. The noise had returned back to the cafeteria, but occasional stares and whispers were still directed at the group. It seems as though Jeno didn't know as much about the high school experience as he thought. He certainly didn't expect for his own brother to be well-known, considering how low of a profile their father expects us to keep. Jeno doesn't know the exact story as to why Johnny got pulled out of school sophomore year, but he doesn't ask about it and Johnny doesn't talk about it. Jeno had thought perhaps the school had found out about their organization, however the fact that their father was able to send them back to Crestview proved that theory wrong. Jeno sits up a little taller, feeling safer surrounded by his brother and his friends. "So, are we going to grab lunch or what?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third update of the day. I really have nothing better to do than to write this. Hope you guys enjoy! Don't be shy to leave feedback.  
> -jmlp <3


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every time Jeno meets each of Jaemin's friends.

Jeno meet Chenle in the bathroom next to the computer lab. 

He'd gone to wash his hands during the break between third and fourth block. Jeno checks his reflection in the mirror, fixing his hair and taking his blazer off. It was obvious that barely any students bothered to obey the dress code. 

Jeno was wiping his hands off on his trouser pants when he hears muffled shooting. It seems to come from one of the cubicles and years of training has conditioned him to be alert. Jeno makes his way to the cubicle, hand on the switch knife in his back pocket, a gift from his father on his fifth birthday. A sharp kick to the door and it swings open, revealing a small boy sitting on the toilet, phone in hand. 

"What the fuck?" The boy exclaims, hands grabbing at his own chest. "Oh my fucking god, you scared the shit out of me!"

The swearing seems unnatural from the boys soft face, Jeno thinks. "Uh..my bad." Jeno slowly releases his grip on the knife in his pocket and tries to appear casual.

"What're you doing?" The boy narrows his eyes, game forgotten on his lap.

"I just-I heard shooting, so..."

The boy rolls his eyes. "Yeah, I'm playing PubG."

Jeno raises his eyebrows. "Without earphones?"

"Seven people came in and the only person that bothered me was you." The boy retorts. "You must be Jeno."

Alarm bells go off inside Jeno's head. He squints his eyes accusingly and his hand goes back inside his pocket. "How'd you know that?"

The boy goes back to tapping his phone, shooting sounds resuming. "Mm, Jaemin might've mentioned you."

Jeno flushes when he hears the other boy's name. "Oh. You guys are friends?"

"Yep." The boy pops the "p" at the end of the word. "I'm Chenle."

"Ah. Nice to meet you Chenle." Jeno leans on the door of the cubicle, significantly more relaxed. The boy doesn't seem to pose a threat. "Are you playing on the new Livik map?"

Chenle finally looks up, eyes gleaming in an almost childish excitement. "You play?"

Jeno nods. "Occasionally."

"Dude, add me!"

Jeno laughs and quickly types his username into Chenle's phone. His father would kill him if he ever found out. _Friends are liabilities._ His father would say.

"Let's play together sometimes." Chenle grins, feet swinging in excitement. "All my friends suck. You don't suck right?"

"I'd say I'm pretty good." Jeno smirks.

The bell rings and the sound is sharp, echoing through the bathroom. 

"Well, I'll head out now. Nice meeting you, Chenle."

The other boy hums, seemingly having no intention of moving from his spot on the toilet. Jeno shakes his head in amusement before shutting the door to the cubicle and heading to his last class of the day.

Jeno meets Mark _properly_ after school.

He walks into the courtyard and is surprised to find his brother yet in another crowd of people.

Huffing, Jeno pushes his way through the crowd to find his brother. 

"Jeno!" Johnny exclaims, pulling his brother closer. Jeno squirms uncomfortably under the gaze of who he assumes is the basketball team, judging from the basketballs littering the floor around them. "Boys, I'm taking my leave now. It was nice catching up!"

Goodbyes echo from behind them as Johnny, Jaehyun, Mark and Jeno pull away from the group. 

"Where are we going?" Jeno asks. "Are we not getting picked up?"

"Nah, texted Mr. Park that he didn't need to pick us up today." Johnny shrugs. "We're going to the mall."

"The mall?" Jeno is confused, only ever had gone to the mall for special occasions. Shopping was something his mother was more familiar with.

"Johnny's gotta buy some new sneakers, doesn't he?" Jaehyun crows, slinging his arm onto Johnny's shoulders. 

"That's right." Johnny grins. 

Jeno raises his eyebrows, knowing Johnny has an extensive collection of sneakers at home. He brushes it off, knowing his older brother probably wants to spend some more time with his friends. "Can we grab some food, too?"

"There's a convenience store right around the corner." Mark points at the street, a little shop visible a small distance away. 

"Dude, I could really go for some instant noodles night now." Jaehyun quickens his pace and beelines straight towards to convenience store. Johnny jogs lightly after his friend, leaving Mark and Jeno behind.

They walk slowly and the silence is awkward.

"So..." Jeno looks up at Mark when the older boy starts to speak. "How you liking Crestview so far?"

"It's nice." Jeno answers honestly. "Different from what I expected."

"What did you expect?"

"Oh, I don't know." Jeno avoids answering the questions, too embarrassed that he'd expected to be lonely. 

"Hey." Marks stops walking and Jeno turns around to look at the boy. "Are you good at basketball?"

Jeno grins. All Mark seems to think about is basketball. "Nah, I'm more into biking."

Mark nods knowingly as he starts walking again. "My friend's really into biking too. He takes it seriously, almost spent a grand on his bike."

Jeno raises his eyebrows his surprise. He'd expected Mark to laugh at him. "Really? What bike?"

"I wouldn't know. Ask him for yourself."

"How would I know who to ask?" Jeno and Mark resume walking, pushing the door to the convenience store open. 

"His name's Jaemin. Jaemin Na." Mark says, grabbing a soda from one of the fridges. "But I heard you guys have already met."

Jeno seems to keep hearing that name today. Jaemin Na. The image of the boy's brilliant smile and pretty eyes crosses Jeno's mind. "Is he going around telling everybody he knows me?" It's a joke, and both the boys laugh.

"What's so funny?" Johnny pokes his head into the aisle, eyes suspicious. 

"None of your business." Mark beams, grabbing Jeno's arm and quickly leaving the aisle.

Jeno looks at the other boy in confusion. 

"Johnny hates not knowing everything." Mark answers his silent question. Jeno nods.

"Jaehyun~Mark's stealing my brother." They hear Johnny whine to the other senior a few aisles over. "They're _gossiping_!"

Jeno shakes his head, snorting in amusement.

Jeno meets Donghyuck on his second day of school.

Crestview operates on a 2 day schedule. Four classes on Day 1 and the other four classes on Day 2. In total, each student should have eight courses. Jeno was heading to his second block of his Day 2 schedule: P.E.

Jeno had original planned on signing up for the weight training course but it was only offered to junior and senior students. Instead of bothering his father and asking him to pull some strings, Jeno had settled for regular gym. He supposes playing some team sports wouldn't hurt. 

Jeno was heading into the change room, when he sees Jaemin in the hall, talking to a boy bright red hair. _That is most definitely breaking the dress code._ Jeno thinks.

Jaemin always seems to pop up ever since they met in science. Whether it's seeing him in the halls, or talking about him with other people, Jeno can't seem to avoid the boy. Shaking his head, Jeno walks into the locker room to change. 

When he arrives at the large gymnasium, no doubt funded by the parents of another silver spoon student attending this school, Jeno spots a head of red hair in the sea of black and brown. The gym teacher introduces himself as Mr. Choi, a beefy man towering over the students and dressed in a blue tracksuit. Jeno grabs a seat on one of the wooden benches.

Mr. Choi quickly speeds through attendance, before announcing that they'll play dodgeball today. Groans echo through the gymnasium. 

"Less complaining, more moving! Every student better be sweating by the end of this block!" Mr. Choi bellows, crossing his arms. 

Jeno has never played dodgeball, only ever heard of it or watched it in films. He supposes it couldn't be too hard and he understood the rules. The students gather at their respective side of the gym after being split into two teams. When Mr. Choi blows his whistle, signalling the start of the game, Jeno stays near the back, observing the other students. He watches how the students on the other team throw and how they defend. Jeno spots a classmate using two balls, one in each hand and smacking any incoming dodgeballs out of the way. _Good strategy._ Jeno thinks.

"Hey! Lee! Let's get moving!" Mr. Choi notices Jeno lingering at the back, leaning on the way. 

Jeno startles at the yell and starts walking to one of the balls lying on the ground. A dodgeball whips across the gym, heading straight for Jeno. Instinctively, Jeno drops and rolls, grabbing a stray dodgeball lying near him and looks for the attacker. He spots a familiar red head staring at him. Jeno was surprised, not expecting the boy to throw that hard, considering the speed the ball was going. 

Jeno looks around his side of the gymnasium, realizing that his team was losing. Three of his teammates stand on his side, everyone else out of the game, while the opposing team has at least twelve people still up. A sharp smack signals another one of Jeno's teammates hit and then it's just him and one teammate left standing. Jeno spots multiple dodgeballs on his side of the gym and it was obvious that the other team was running out of balls. _This gives me an advantage._

Suddenly moving, Jeno catches the other team off guard as he jumps a few feet in the air before slamming the ball in his hand into a poor, unexpecting student. He wastes no time in picking up another ball off the ground and aiming for his next target, the ball flying through the air with a whistling sound. It slams into a girls side and she huffs, before walking off to the side of the gymnasium, joining the others. At this point, the other team has recovered from their initial shock and they start pelting balls at Jeno, who easily avoids them, leaping and rolling. He vaguely registers his teammate walking off to the side of the gym, no doubt having gotten hit. This leaves Jeno alone against the ten students on the opposing team. He moves quickly, moving around the dodgeballs aimed for him. This was nothing compared to the training simulations he'd done since he was little. 

Soon enough, the dodgeball game becomes a 1v1, Jeno and one person on the opposing team left. Jeno recognizes the boy as the red head who was talking with Jaemin before class, but wastes no time in shooting a ball straight and precise. What Jeno didn't expect was the ball to hit the red head straight in the face, making an awful sound on impact. 

"Fuck!" The boy cries, hands cupping his nose. Blood seems through his fingers. 

Mr. Choi runs over to check on him. "It's not broken, but that was a close one." He turns and looks at Jeno sternly. "Let's throw a little lighter next time, yeah?"

Jeno walks closer to the red haired boy, scratching the back of his sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize how hard I threw it."

The boy looks up, eyes a little watery and Jeno feels something similar to guilt brew in his stomach. "It's fine. Good game." He extends one of his hands, despite it being bloody.

Jeno raises his eyebrows, surprised, but shakes the offered hand nonetheless. Blood never bothered him anyways.

The whole table gasps when Donghyuck sits down at lunch. 

"What the fuck happened to your face?" Mark growls, grabbing the sides of Donghyuck's face gently and inspecting the damage. 

Jaemin blinks. "Your nose is huge, Hyuck."

Donghyuck sticks his tongue out at Jaemin. "I got hit by a dodgeball."

"Looks like you got hit by a metal ball." Jisung laughs. "How hard was the ball thrown?"

"Ask the Hulk over there." Donghyuck gestures towards the table in the middle of the cafeteria where the Gang is sitting. "Jeno's a beast at dodgeball."

"Jeno's the one who hit you?" Jaemin gasps, not able to see the boy doing anything aggressive. "But he-he's so gentle."

Donghyuck cackles. "Who the fuck did you meet in your science class because you definitely didn't meet Jeno Lee."

Chenle nods. "You said he was shy but I met him in the bathroom after he slammed the door to my cubicle open."

"Jesus, Chenle, were you skipping class already?" Mark sighs.

Jaemin gapes with his jaw hanging, staring at Chenle. "Jeno did what?"

Mark leans on a very swollen Donghyuck. "I wouldn't say Jeno's shy at all. He's a lot like his brother once you get to know him."

"Huh." Jaemin frowns. "I guess I don't know him that well. I've only known the dude for, like, a day after all."

"Wait, what the hell?" Jisung slams his hands down on the table. "Why are you all suddenly friends with Jeno? Am I the only person that hasn't met him?"

The table is silent while the boys looks around at each other. "Yeah, I guess." Jaemin says.

"Unbelievable." Jisung huffs, frowning as he slumps in his seat. "Un-fucking-believable."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit of a longer chapter. Just to clear some things up, I'll list the ages of the current major characters.
> 
> Freshmen - Jisung, Chenle  
> Sophomores - Jaemin, Donghyuck, Jeno  
> Juniors - Mark  
> Seniors - Johnny, Jaehyun, Doyoung, Taeyong, Lucas, Jungwoo
> 
> You'll meet more members eventually! I don't have a clear timeline of this story, so I'm winging it as I write. Apologies for any spelling or grammatical mistakes. Feel free to comment any feedback or questions!
> 
> -jmlp<3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeno makes new friends and receives news from his father.

Jeno notices Jaemin's absence from their first period science class more than he's willing to admit. After all, he's spent the last two days constantly reminded of the other boy's existence. When the bell rings, signalling the start of the period, Jeno pushes his thoughts to the back of his mind and tries to focus on what the teacher is saying.

Fifteen minutes into class, the door bursts open, revealing a frazzled looking Jaemin.

"Mr. Na! How considerate of you to grace us with your presence." Their science teacher, Ms. Cha, says flatly. "Take a seat."

Jaemin bows his head, mumbling his apologies and takes his usual seat next to Jeno's desk. Their eyes meet and Jeno asks a silent question with his eyes. Jaemin was smiles, still out of breath, before looking away at the board.

Jeno resumes his note taking. A moment later, a folded paper lands on his desk. He quickly unfolds it, shielding himself from Ms. Cha's view behind the student sitting in front of him.

_You gonna sit with your brother again during lunch?_

Jeno looks over at Jaemin but the other boy stares straight forward.

_I think so..why?_

He tosses the paper back onto Jaemin's desk. The response comes a few seconds later.

_Was gonna invite you to sit with me again. I heard you've met my friends._

Jeno blushes at the thought of the group gossiping about him. He wonders if Jaemin thinks he's weird. Jeno shakes his head, the boy had invited him to lunch, after all.

_I'll be there._

He throws the paper back and watches Jaemin finally make eye contact with him. Jeno flushes at the brilliant smile shot at his direction.

"See you there then." Jaemin says, still grinning.

"Boys, do you have something to share to the class?" Ms. Cha calls out.

"No, Ms. Cha. Sorry." Jaemin says, looking back at the front of the classroom.

When class ends, Jaemin makes him way out with class with Jeno. He rakes his hand through his hair and Jeno watches, entranced as the soft locks fall back down to frame the pretty boy's face. 

"Jeno?"

Jeno snaps out of his reverie. "Sorry, did you say something?"

A knowing smile appears on Jaemin's face and Jeno feels his face heat up. "You have english next, right? I can wait for you in front of your class."

Jeno nods. "Sure, if you don't mind."

"Alright, then." Jaemin waves as he turns in a different direction. "I'm off to math!"

Jeno waves, watching the boy bounce his way, chest feeling a little weird.

### 

Jaemin dashes out of his math class the minute the bell rings, making his way to the english hall. He stands in front of the class, leaning on the wall and pulls his phone out of his pocket. Jaemin shoots a quick text to the group chat.

Nana: i invited jeno to eat lunch with us

The response is immediate. 

ji: WHAT  
lele: ok  
hyuck: ok  
mark: ok  
ji: EXCUSE ME

"Jaemin?"

Jaemin pockets his phone, turning to see Jeno standing in front of him. He blanches when he sees Johnny Seo standing tall behind Jeno.

"I'm just gonna eat lunch today with Jaemin and his friends." Jeno tells Johnny. 

Johnny grins. "No problem, bro. I'll see you after school, okay?"

Jeno nods and Johnny walks away, not before making some intense eye contact with Jaemin. 

Jaemin feels shivers go down his spine but he holds his gaze, watching the senior finally turn and walk down the hall. "I guess we should get going, then."

The two boys walk down the hall in silence, but it's not uncomfortable. When they finally reach the cafeteria, Jaemin says, "Your brother's kind of scary."

Jeno laughs, head thrown back. "I guess he is."

Jaemin grins, leading Jeno to his friends table. "Hey, guys. This is Jeno, but everyone except Jisung has met him anyways."

The group chorus their greetings and Jeno takes a seat between Jaemin and Donghyuck. "How's your nose?"

Donghyuck huffs. "Still hurts a bit, but whatever."

Jeno laughs. "Sorry."

"Yeah, yeah."

Jaemin's attention wanders from the conversation when his phone dings.

ji: omg he's so hot up close  
nana: do u have a crush  
ji: no he's just hot  
lele: stfu I'm playing PubG  
ji: just mute us fucking idiot

"Jaemin." Jeno taps his shoulder. "I'm gonna go buy some lunch, you want me to grab some for you?"

Jaemin shakes his head. "No, it's fine, I'll come with." He starts to get up when a firm hand on his shoulder pushes him back down.

"Nah, for real. I'll just grab it for you." Jeno says. "Stay there."

Jaemin watches as the other boy walks away, eyebrows raised. When he turns to look at his friends, they all have similar expressions on their face.

"What was that?" Mark asks, amusement written on his face.

"Nothing." Jaemin huffs.

Jeno meets his older brother in the courtyard after school, as always. Johnny's conversing with his friends, the group loud and energetic. When they spot Jeno, they chorus his name, pulling him into the circle.

"How was lunchtime with your new friends?" Johnny teases.

Taeyong wraps his arm around his boyfriend. "Don't make fun of him, Johnny. It's good he's making his own friends."

"I'm not making fun of him! It was a genuine question!"

Jeno rolls his eyes at their bickering. It's always strange to see them carefree together, especially when before high school, the only time he'd seen Taeyong was when his dad brought him to business meetings. Taeyong Lee was the son of one of their organization's main shareholders. Soo Man Lee grew up with Jeno's father, them both maturing into powerful, wealthy men. 

Jeno wonders if the rest of his brother's friend group is aware of their background. _No, that would be ridiculous. We can't trust anybody._

"You ready to go?" Johnny asks Jeno, motioning towards the Range Rover parked in the lot, Mr. Park waving from the drivers seat.

"Yeah, let's go." Jeno adjusts his backpack before heading to the car. He notices Taeyong following them. "Is Taeyong coming over today?"

"Your father asked me to visit, actually." Taeyong's answer takes Jeno by surprise. "Said he had something important to discuss."

Jeno's stomach turns, nervousness clouding his brain.

Johnny notices and places a calming hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure it's nothing bad."

Jeno nods, though he still can't shake the feeling that something is wrong. He gets into the backseat of the car and closes his eyes.

When they arrive at the estate, Jeno's hands were slick with sweat. Something about his father requesting not only him and Johnny, but Taeyong's presence as well rubs Jeno the wrong way.

The trio walk into the mansion and head towards Mr. Lee's office on the third floor. When they arrive, Johnny knows thrice on the door.

"Come in."

Johnny walks in first, leading the other two into the spacious room. "You wanted to see us, father?"

"Yes." Dongmin takes off his glasses, placing them on the large, oak desk. "I have an opportunity for you and Jeno to assist a mission."

Johnny raises his eyebrows. "A mission?"

Jeno stands frozen in shock. Unlike Johnny, he's never been sent out on a mission before. 

Their father nods. "I assume Jeno is ready. I hope all that training hasn't gone to waste."

Now it makes sense to Jeno why he had been ordered to train harder the past few weeks. His father had planned to send him out on a missions. "No, father. I'm ready."

Johnny shoots him a look, before turning back to look at his father. "If I may ask, what mission do you have in mind?"

Dongmin leans back in his chair, stretching out his arms. "A hit."

The three high school boys gape at the elder man.

"A _hit_? For Jeno's first mission?" Johnny asks. He had faith in his brother, but even he himself had a simpler first mission.

"Don't make me repeat myself. I'm sure you heard me well the first time around." Their father snaps, standing up from his chair and walking around the table. "I suppose your concern is not unwarranted, however, that's precisely why I've chosen for the both of you to go together."

Jeno, who has been silent the whole time, finally speaks. "And what about Taeyong? You wanted to see him as well."

"That's right." Dongmin leans forward and places his hands on the table. "I wanted to make sure Taeyong would do everything in his ability to keep your classmates unaware and unsuspicious?"

Taeyong nods. "Of course, sir."

"Then it's settled. Two days from now, you'll fly out to Macau. I'll have the files sent over."

When the trio exits the room, Johnny looks down at his little brother. "You're going to be fine, I know that for sure. I can hear you thinking."

Jeno sighs. "I guess I'm just nervous. This'll be my first kill."

Johnny's face is covered in shock. "Really? I thought you'd made yours when you were seven."

"No." Jeno's eyes darken at the memory. "I didn't."

Taeyong notices the shift in the mood. "Well I'm sure if you're not ready, Johnny will help you finish the job, won't you Johnny?"

Johnny grins. "Of course."

"No." Jeno looks down at his hands. "It's about time I made my first kill, anyways."

It's not the killing part that scares Jeno. He couldn't count the amount of times he's killed someone in simulators or virtual realities. The training his father puts him through works after all. Jeno knows more ways to kill than most government trained agents at the age of fourteen. He knows how to get the job done quick and easy. It's the guilt that Jeno is worried about. He fears that he'll feel regret or sympathy. He knows his father hates to see weakness and he remembers Johnny locking himself in him room for 2 weeks after his first kill. Jeno is scared of being disgusted with himself. He's scared because he knows he was born into this life and he has no way out. 

"Hey." Jeno looks up when he feels Johnny's hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine, okay? I'll be with you the whole way through."

Jeno relaxes, knowing the truth behind Johnny's words. Worst comes to worst, Johnny will always be behind his back. 

"I don't wanna fall behind in school." Jeno whines.

The trio laughs as they walk down the foyer stairs and Jeno forgets about his fears for the time being.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short-ish chapter! Sorry there hasn't been a lot of action, I'm aiming to build a solid backstory as well as build the characters well. I hope you all enjoy! Feel free to leave comments or feedback~~~  
> jmlp<3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny and Jeno fly out to Macau.

The next day, Jeno sits with Jaemin and his friends again. 

The group is surprisingly easy to talk to. Jeno finds their constant bickering amusing and he's entertained although he may not talk much. Jeno was never one to gossip or talk bad about other people, so he sits back and listens when Donghyuck, Jisung and Jaemin whisper about their classmates. 

Jeno finds out that Chenle isn't always on his phone, but becomes just as loud and hyper as Jisung when he wants to. Overall, Jeno would say he enjoys the group of boy's company. 

Jeno looks over at his brother's lunch table and sees that Johnny is staring back at him. His phone dings in his lap a moment later.

big bro: don't say anything about the mission

Jeno scoffs.

lil bro: do u think i'm stupid?

"Who are you texting?" Jaemin asks, peeking over Jeno's shoulder to look at the phone.

Jeno quickly turns his phone off and straightens his back up. "Johnny." He replies quickly. 

"Okayyy.." Jaemin stares at him suspiciously before returning to his conversation with Donghyuck.

"Oh yeah," Mark turns to Jeno. "We're going thinking of hanging out tomorrow at Chenle's place. Since it'll be Saturday, y'know?"

The rest of the group look at Jeno expectantly. Jeno is grateful that they had decided they wanted to invite him after only knowing him for a few days. 

"I'm sorry," Jeno says. "I have family shit to deal with."

"That's okay, maybe next time." Mark smiles. 

Jeno nods and the mood lightens at the table when all conversations resume. 

After lunch, Jeno pulls Jaemin aside. "Hey, do you mind grabbing my science homework for me next week?"

"Yeah, sure." Jaemin brushes his hair out of his eyes. Jeno thinks the other boy might be overdue for a haircut. "Why?"

"Family shit, remember?"

Jaemin raises his eyebrows. "How long will you be gone?"

Jeno pauses. "I don't know."

Jaemin looks curious, but he doesn't ask. "Ok, well I can just send you the work. Gimme your number."

Jeno types his number into Jaemin's extended phone, face warm. "Uh, sure." 

Jaemin gives Jeno his signature bright smile and shows Jeno his phone again. 

Jeno sees that his contact is saved under _nono_ and he flushes again. "Nono?"

"I'm Nana, so you're Nono!" Jaemin beams. 

Jeno laughs at that, ignoring the way his stomach flips.

### 

The plane shakes, the turbulence icon shining in the dark interior of the jet. 

"Fuck!" Johnny yells, gripping the arms of his seat tightly.

Jeno snorts. "You're still scared of planes?"

"I'm not _scared_ , this shit just makes me dizzy!"

"Sure."

The two boys stand up when their father enters the plane cabin. 

"Boys." Their father takes a seat and pulls out a folder from the inside of his suit. "I trust that you've already read these files, but I'll be debriefing you today."

Jeno and Johnny nod, having memorized the information on those files the minute they were sent over. 

"As you know, your target is Adorjan Dudas, a Hungarian business man." Their father leans back in his seat. "He'll be staying at the Ritz-Carlton in Macau for the next week. You'll be cutting his visit a bit..short, we'll say." Dongmin grins, humour as morbid as ever.

Johnny grimaces at his father's poor attempt at humour. 

"Dudas has a business meeting at Wynn Palace Casino in 72 hours. We've booked your hotel near the casino. There'll be important members at the meeting, mostly involved in the Macau drug ring and Chinese triads. Try not to kill any of those men. You'll be working with Sicheng's team this mission, roughly 20 men with you two included."

The mentioned team leader enters the cabin, face void of emotion. "We'll be putting Dudas under surveillance for the next 72 hours. We're aiming to hit him when he leaves the meeting."

Dongmin nods. "I have connections to Wynn Palace, no 999 calls will be made and the casino will be closed to the public. I want you two to leave no trace that Neo was involved with Dudas' death. I don't need either the Hungarian or Macanese organizations on my ass."

Jeno and Johnny nod, faces grim. The plane shakes and the plane intercom dings.

"We'll be landing in twenty minutes, Mr. Lee." The captain says over the speaker.

"Alright." Their father stands. "The sooner we get this mission over with, the sooner you can come home. Don't bother returning until Dudas is six feet under."

Sicheng hands them each a duffle bag. "This is your equipment. I'll explain in more detail once we get to the hotel."

Dongmin exits the cabin, leaving Sicheng and his two sons inside. 

Johnny sighs, slumping back into his seat. "So, why Dudas? What did he do?"

Sicheng shrugs. "Hell if I know. Your father rarely tells my team a motive when we complete missions."

Jeno stares at the team leader, only having met the man a few times before. "How long have you been leading your team?"

"Roughly 3 years?" Sicheng answers, grabbing a Sprite from the mini fridge. "I've switched teams a few times. No one stays alive long enough."

Jeno blanches. "Oh."

Sicheng grins. "Don't worry. The ones who die are all foot soldiers. None of them went through boss' training. You'll be fine."

"I have to agree." Johnny crosses his arms. "This mission is petty. We have a large team with us, there's nothing to worry about."

Jeno sniffs. "Okay, Mr. I'm-so-brave-but-I'm-scared-of-planes."

"Fuck off." Johnny throws a pillow at Jeno's head as Sicheng cackles.

Jeno lies down on his bed, looking around the hotel room. It's ridiculously extravagant, gold details and floral decorations littered around the space.

"This place gives me a headache." Jeno whines, shoving his head into his pillow.

Johnny, who is lying down spread eagle on his own bed, groans in response. "I can't believe I'm missing my AP Literature test tomorrow."

Jeno huffs out a laugh before pulling out his phone to check the time. Sunday, 8:00 P.M. "There's still 48 hours until we meet Dudas."

Johnny looks over at his brother. "No use being impatient. We can't rush things like this."

"I _know_." Jeno rolls his eyes. "I'm just bored."

"Watch T.V." Johnny says, resting his head back on his pillow. "I'm tired."

"From what?" Jeno scoffs. "I'm hungry."

"Order room service, then."

"But I don't want gourmet food."

"What the fuck do you want then?"

"Instant noodles from the convenience store down the street."

"Then go."

"You have to come with me, though."

"Fuck, you're so high maintenance." Johnny groans, sitting up. "Okay, let's go."

"Really?" Jeno beams before hopping off his bed. 

Johnny sighs and they leave their hotel room.

### 

The convenience store is small but packed with a variety of snacks. Jeno chooses a seafood flavoured instant noodle before heading over to the seating area outside to use the hot water dispenser. 

A pair of men are seated there, smoking cigarettes and nursing bottles of beer.

As he watches the hot water fall on his noodles, Jeno listens in to their conversation. They're talking in Chinese, but luckily Jeno knows more languages than the average person. His Chinese isn't fluent, but he can understand quite a bit.

"Tsui's asking to get killed." One of the men, covered in tattoos says, letting out a fat cloud. "He should've never taken the job."

"You know what he's like." The other man, wearing a cheap, obviously fake leather jacket, replies. "He'll do anything for money."

"And look where that's gotten him. He's in deep shit when the men up top, now."

You don't have to be a son of a crime boss to realize the men are talking about illegal activity. Jeno stops the hot water and sprinkles the flavouring packet on his noodles.

"Red Phoenix has been trying to overthrow White Tiger for ages, now Tsui's got himself involved." The tattoos man scoffs.

Jeno alerts at the mention of White Tiger, Neo's Chinese partner organization. He looks over back into the store to see Johnny still browsing the aisles inside. Taking a seat a few tables over, Jeno stirs his noodles and continues listening in.

"Tsui's nothing but a foot soldier. I bet they'll kill him soon. He can't hide from Red Phoenix." The other man takes off his leather jacket and Jeno spots a gun in the waistband of his jeans.

"He told me he's going to beg at the meeting tomorrow." The man with the tattoos scoffs.

"You're still contacting him? You're asking to die with him."

"Hey." Jeno turns and sees Johnny standing next to his table, snacks and drinks in hand. 

Jeno shushes him and gestures for him to sit down, pointing his head at the two men. Johnny's face drops into a serious expression before taking a seat across from Jeno.

"Tsui's crazy. They'll shoot him before he steps foot in that casino." 

Johnny and Jeno look at each other. It's no doubt they're talking about the meeting at Wynn Palace.

"Who knows? They might just hear him out."

Jeno pulls out his phone, quickly texting both Sicheng and his father. His phone dings a few seconds later with a reply.

Sicheng: Red Phoenix will be there?  
Sicheng: Does your father know?  
Jeno: I just notified him.  
Sicheng: We'll have to be extra careful. Any ties to White Tiger and they won't hesitate to get violent.

Jeno purses his lips before lifting his head to look back at the men. He's startles when he notices that they're looking over at his direction, most specifically at Johnny.

Jeno turns to his brother and quickly spots what they're staring at. 

"Cover your tattoo." Jeno hisses.

"Fuck." Johnny whispers, crossing his arms and hiding the large skull and dragon tattoo on chest, the insignia of Neo. It was visible through the large arm holes of Johnny's tank top. Johnny had gotten his insignia after his first mission, a symbol that only the high ranks of Neo had. Jeno has yet to get his.

It was too late, the two men start getting up and walking over to their table.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Johnny keeps his gaze straight, not looking at the men.

"Hey." The tattooed man says. "Who are you?"

"What do you mean?" Johnny replies in Chinese.

"Don't play stupid." The other man pulls out his gun and Johnny stands up. "We saw your tattoo. You a part of Neo?"

"Put the gun down." Johnny moves his hand to his waistband, where he keeps his gun.

The man points the gun at Jeno and Jeno ducks, running. He doesn't make it far before a shot is fired, missing him by centimetres.

"Jeno!" Johnny yells before quickly wrenching himself from the tattoos man's hold.

The man holding the gun stares at Jeno with wide eyes. "Jeno? As in Jeno Lee?"

Jeno curses. 

"This kid's Dongmin Lee's son!" The two men stare at him.

"Fuck." Johnny grabs Jeno and point his gun at the two men.

"Fuck sake's, dude." The tattooed man starts backing up. "We fucked up."

"Run!" The other Chinese man says and the two of them take off.

Johnny quickly shoots the both of them, two shots to the chest each, right on their hearts. "Fuck, we gotta call Sicheng."

Jeno stares at the bodies on the ground. "We have to go. Someone probably heard the gunshots."

Johnny nods before the two of them take off in a sprint. They climb up the fire escape of the hotel and slip into their room through the window they'd kept unlocked just in case.

Jeno sits on one of the chair, head in his hands. "I just wanted some noodles."

"It's okay." Johnny says. "I killed them. No one should know Neo is in Macau."

Sicheng bursts into their room. "What happened?"

As Johnny explains the story to Sicheng, Jeno closes his eyes in his chair.

"We should be fine." Sicheng says. "No one should know we're here. We have to be extra cautious."

Jeno suddenly remembers something. "Oh, right."

Johnny and Sicheng turn towards him. 

"The men mentioned someone with the surname Tsui."

Sicheng's face hardens. "Tsui's a traitor to White Tiger. A nobody who was willing to trade his loyalty to climb up the ranks." Sicheng used to be in White Tiger before he transferred up to Neo as a team leader. He still dealt with a lot of White Tiger related issues.

Jeno frowns. "They mentioned that Tsui will be at the casino."

"No problem." Sicheng says, tone low. "Then we'll kill two birds with one stone."

Johnny sighs, sitting down on his bed. "I thought this was just a hit mission."

"It is." Sicheng turns to leave the room. "Get some sleep. I'll deal with your father. Worst comes to worst, we have one more target for Tuesday."

As Sicheng exits the room, Jeno looks up at the ceiling of the hotel room, tired and exhausted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter! I hope you enjoy. This chapter has a bit more action and the next chapter should include the actual mission. Feel free to leave comments or feedback!  
> -jmlp<3


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission

It was finally Tuesday. 

Jeno and Johnny check out of their hotel at 4:00 A.M. "Sangho?" The receptionist calls. Jeno turns in his key card and pocket's his fake ID in his bag. He nods at Johnny. "Let's go, _Sanghoon_." The duo try to cover their snickers at the name Neo has provided them with and walk through the luxurious doors of the hotel. 

Sicheng picks them up from the parking lot, driving them over to the Macau base. While Jeno has never been to Neo's headquarters in Macau, nothing he sees is a surprise. A big corporate building is the cover up for Neo, just like in any other city. The big modern sign in front of the business building reads Neo Culture Technology is large, silver words, suggesting a typical tech developing office building, not one of the biggest crime organizations in Neo. 

As Jeno heads inside, thanking Sicheng for holding the door open for him, he gets a message on his phone.

nana: Image Attached  
nana: Here's today's science homework and notes  
nana: lmk if you don't get anything!!!

Jeno grins and quickly responds.

nono: Thank you.  
nono: I will let you know if I need help.  
nana: why do u text like my dad

Jeno blanches. He's used to texting people he's not close with formally. Maybe Jaemin is someone he should consider close, now.

nono: my bad. habit.  
nana: LMAO ok :)))

Jeno pockets his phone and follows Sicheng through the large floor plan of the building's first floor. The receptionist spots them and bows. "Mr. Dong. Mr. Lee. Mr. Seo. Welcome!" The three of them nod back at her and they're presented lanyards with their ID attached, the VVIP badge flashing. Jeno enters the elevator after Johnny and Sicheng. It brings them up to the second highest floor, Floor 21, where mission briefings and preparation takes place.

Sicheng's team has already arrived, the men sprawled across the room, dressed in their gear. 

"Put on your gear. Head down to the weapons floor if you need to grab anything." Sicheng tells them. "Other than that, don't find me unless it's an emergency. I'll be preparing for the mission in Room 3. Ask Xiaojun if you have any simple questions."

Jeno and Johnny looks over to the man Sicheng points to, a Chinese boy with strong eyebrows, poking at a piece of tech. Jeno vaguely recognizes seeing him in the Seoul HQ and shoots him a small smile.

Jeno quickly scans the room and spots Irene, one of the members of Neo's female team back in Seoul. "Irene?"

The girl looks up. "Oh. Hey, Jeno."

"What're you doing all the way here in Macau?" Jeno takes a seat on one of the chairs next to her, placing his duffle bag on the table.

"Your father sent me over once we found out Red Phoenix will be attending the meeting." Irene responds, looking back at her tablet. "My team's been working on Red Phoenix for a while."

"Ah." Jeno nods. He doesn't understand why his father has the Red Velvet team working on Red Phoenix when they're based in two different companies but he has a feeling it has to do with Dongmin's fucked up humour.

There's an awkward silence before Jeno gets back up, grabbing his duffle bag. "Well...I'm gonna get geared up."

Irene hums. "Okay. I don't give a fuck."

Jeno rolls his eyes at the older woman and heads to find a vacant room. He opens the door to Room 5 and sees Johnny already there.

Shrugging off his shirt as well, Jeno joins Johnny is changing into his gear in silence. As Jeno attaches the last piece of equipment on his getup, he turns to Johnny. "Should we go down to the weapons floor?"

Johnny nods, reaching for the door to open it. "You have an idea of what weapons you prefer?"

Jeno looks at his brother, face flat. "Of course."

Jeno trails after Johnny through the halls, down the elevator and to the weapons floor. Jeno has been to the floor multiple times in the past, but he's never visited for the purpose of a mission. 

Johnny leads them to the first room, the door labelled Assault Rifles. "For this type of mission, we'll be pretty close to the target. Grab an AR of your choice. I'm going to head over to explosives, come find me if you need me."

Jeno nods and steps into the room. He picks up a SCAR, just for the familiarity and head down the hallway before stopping for a Thompson in the SMG room. 

Jeno makes his way over to explosives, seeing Johnny grabbing a few frags. Jeno browses the rows of devices before taking a few molotov cocktails and shoving them in his bag. 

"I'm going to grab some ammo and set up back at the missions floor." Jeno tells Johnny, who nods.

Jeno walks back through the hallway, grabbing ammo for his guns and rides the elevator back up. The doors to the elevator open and he sits at one of the tables, setting up his weapons. He's done this many times in training, but his hands shake. This was going to be his first mission. A _real_ mission. The nerves start to settle in Jeno's stomach.

He checks his watch. It was already 4:00 P.M.

Sicheng bursts out from the room he was monitoring in. "Alright, team. I want everyone out and in the vehicles in 30 minutes!"

The team scrambles to finish up their preparation and Jeno closes his eyes, willing for his heart to stop racing.

On the way to the site near the casino, Jeno's phone dings with a text message.

nana: jeno! have u done the science homework yet?  
nono: not yet...why?  
nana: just wondering!  
nana: how's your family? is everything ok??  
nono: everything's fine, don't worry  
nana: haha ok :D

Jeno smiles before pocketing his phone.

"Who're you texting?" Johnny asks, attaching a scope on his gun. 

"Nobody." Jeno turns and stares out the window of the car. He hears Johnny huff behind him and chooses to ignore it. 

When the car pulls into the site, the sun has already started to set. The team silently makes their way inside.

"Jeno and Johnny will head in at 10:00 P.M." Sicheng briefs. "When the meeting finishes, they'll tail Dudas and finish him before he leaves the casino. On the off chance that Red Phoenix is there, my team will handle them. I will be communicating through your in-ears so make sure to take those with you."

The team nods.

Jeno grabs his set of in-ears and takes a seat on one of the rickety chairs set up at the site. He looks around the room, dark and dingy, lit by only a few lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling. The site was hidden a few blocks down from the casino. Jeno double checks all his weapons and makes sure he has all the ammo he needs. 

He turns the SCAR in his hands, a weapon he frequently uses during training. Jeno's confident in his abilities. He adds a 4x scope to the gun and turns to where Johnny is seated. "So, I assume I'll be the one to kill Dudas?"

Johnny sighs. "We've been over this, Jeno. Yes, hopefully, you'll be the one to eliminate Dudas. That was the original purpose of this whole trip. However, this mission has expanded to more than just your _first official mission_. Now that Red Phoenix is involved, shit gets a lot more complicated."

Jeno tilts his head back, staring at the dirty ceiling of the concrete room. "Fuck. This is a lot more boring than all those mission simulations."

Johnny smiles. "Just wait until we actually jump into action. It'll feel no different from our training. You'll be fine."

"I know."

### 

"Go, go, go!" 

Hearing Sicheng's orders from his in-ear, Jeno stealthily emerges from the shadows in the alley he was hiding in. He makes his way to the back of the casino, climbing up the fire escape and slipping through one of the big glass windows. Johnny trails after him, watching their back.

"That room is clear." Sicheng tells them, monitoring through the security cameras from the site. "My team is on their way, but won't leave the vehicle until my command. I want you to clear the rest of the floor."

"Roger that." Jeno holds a smaller gun between his hands as he walks through each room, SCAR safely strapped on his back. He carefully clears each room on high alert, making as little sound as possible. He meets Johnny back at the hallway.

"This floor's cleared." Johnny whispers in his mic.

"There are no cameras in the meeting room." Sicheng tells them. "However, I assume the meeting with finish soon. Wait by the stairs."

The duo wait in silence. The only sounds were the muffled voices from upstairs that Jeno could barely hear.

Suddenly, shouting can be heard from the floor above.

"Sicheng?" Jeno asks, tapping his in-ear.

The shouting turns into laughter and footsteps echo as the men walk from the meeting room. 

"I'm so glad we seem to have come to an agreement, Dudas." A joyous voice booms from above.

Jeno's grip on his pistol tightens. He pockets the gun and quietly unstraps the SCAR from his back.

Jeno looks out the window and sees Sicheng's team leave their car.

"Red Phoenix is here." Sicheng speaks into their in-ears, tone hard. "I believe the heir is present."

"The heir?" Johnny whispers. "What is Red Phoenix planning? Their heir has never been formally introduced. What's he doing at a meeting?"

They watch the men descend the stairs before stopping at the foyer of the casino. Jeno vaguely recognizes one of the men as 'Tsui' as he thinks back to the mission files. He's a pudgy man, face red and shiny.

Jeno watches from the shadows, gun ready in position. "Give me the word and I'll shoot a bullet through Dudas' head."

"Not yet." Sicheng says. "We need to handle Red Phoenix."

"They don't pose an immediate threat." Johnny argues. "The issue at hand is eliminating Dudas."

"If Red Phoenix has made an agreement with Dudas, killing him will only anger them." Sicheng responds.

"They wouldn't know Neo is involved." Jeno reasons. 

'If you want to get out of that casino alive, listen to me." Sicheng warns.

Suddenly, the conversation from the men in the foyer ceases.

"I got a call." One of the men says. "There's an unidentified vehicle outside."

Jeno tenses.

"Sir, we have to go." One of Dudas' bodyguard urges, taking the Hungarian businessman by the arm. 

"Sicheng." Jeno harshly whispers into the mic. "They're fucking _leaving_ "

"Yeah, no shit, I can see." Sicheng retorts. "The whole point is that you get him when they're leaving." 

Jeno huffs and looks through the scope on his gun, trailing Dudas' figure.

He watches the man step through the doorframe at the front of the Casino.

"Now, Jeno." Sicheng orders.

Jeno watches the bullet shoot from his gun and enter Dudas' head in slow motion. The Hungarian man's body hits the floor with a sickening thump that echoes inside Jeno's head. Johnny tugs his little brother, frozen in place, behind a pillar.

"Good job, Jeno." Sicheng's voice barely registers in Jeno's brain, his mind muddled in a fog. "Get out of there, _now_."

"Come on, Jeno." Johnny urges, pulling him by his arm. "Let's go!"

Stomping can be heard as they run, the footsteps of the men following them loud.

"Stop!" One of the men shout. 

Johnny and Jeno run through the hallway, looking down at the foyer. There, they see a swarm of men protecting who Jeno assumes is the Red Phoenix heir. Sicheng's team burst into the casino through the windows, glass scattering across the floor. They all have masks on that cover the bottom half of their face.

"Get the heir out! Now!" Men rush the Red Phoenix heir towards the entrance of the casino, but they're quickly stopped by Sicheng's team. Gunshots ring through the room loudly and Jeno ducks, trying to avoid any bullets shot his way. He watches Johnny jump from the second floor down the the foyer, leaping over the banister on the stairs. Jeno quickly follows, but not before shooting a few shots back at the group of men following them. 

The duo assess the current situation in the foyer. Sicheng's team is fighting the men around the heir. 

"The goal is to get the heir, now that Tsui has been eliminated." Sicheng's voice rings in Jeno's head. "Get the heir, get out."

Johnny runs towards the heir and Jeno turns around when he hears the other group of foot soldiers catch up to them. He shoots with his SCAR, comfortable and accurate as he sends two bullets through each chest.

He's focused on eliminating the men, the movements coming to him subconsciously as he switches into training mode. As he watches the bodies hit the floor, Jeno becomes numb and he tunes out the noise of yelling and gunshots.

All Jeno can think about is that he has to protect himself and Johnny. 

Suddenly, his trance is broken by Johnny's incredulous scream. 

"LUCAS?!"

Jeno whips his head over and sure enough, Lucas lies on the floor as Johnny has his knee on his chest.

"F-fuck," Lucas pants. "Get OFF!"

"What the fuck? You're the heir?" Johnny yells.

"What's going on?" Sicheng asks through the in-ears. Jeno looks around the blood and bodies on the foyer floor and realizes it's just Sicheng's team, Johnny and Jeno left. Oh, and _Lucas_.

"He's my friend from school. Or at least that's what I thought." Johnny spits, getting off Lucas' chest. Lucas' body sags like a rag doll.

Suddenly, a squealing of car tires can be heard from outside. 

"Back-up from Red Phoenix is here!" Sicheng tells them. "Exit from the back. Now!"

The team scramble for the exit as a new group of men enter the casino. 

Jeno follows Sicheng's men but turns when he realizes Johnny is next to him. "Johnny!"

Johnny is still next to Lucas, trying to drag the limp man across the bloody ground.

"What about Luc-I mean, the heir? Sicheng?" Jeno screams into his mic. "Do we leave him?"

"Get out of there, now! The heir is not as important as Neo's own heirs!" Sicheng yells back through the in-ear.

"Johnny, let's go!" Jeno screams over the noise of gunshots. Red Phoenix men have their gun's trained on Lucas and Johnny. Jeno runs towards his brother and grabs him, avoiding any bullets. 

A Red Phoenix worker pulls Jeno by the shoulder and Jeno drops onto the floor, colliding onto the floor. He quickly jumps back up, narrowly avoiding a punch directed at his nose. Jeno ducks, before swinging a powerful hook at the enemy's face, successfully knocking him out. 

Johnny takes Jeno by the arm and they run for the back door.

### 

As Sicheng drives the team to the airport in the van, he reprimands Johnny.

"This isn't your first mission. When I said get out now, I mean right then and there."

Johnny sighs, closing his eyes. "Fuck, I know, Sicheng. I just-Lucas."

Jeno's head reels with unanswered questions. Who was Lucas, exactly. Had he known him and Johnny were Neo's heirs?

Sicheng seemed to sense Jeno's thinking. "I don't believe Lucas knew about you two. If he did, I doubt you'd be alive."

Jeno's face tightens at that, lips forming a grim line. 

"You guys are lucky you got out alive." Sicheng scolds.

Jeno touches his cheekbones, wincing at the sting. He looks at his reflection on the glass of the car's window and seems a blooming bruise on his cheek, as well as a few bloody cuts from when he hit the ground. His whole body is sore and all he wants to do is lie in bed. 

"We're flying straight back to Seoul." Sicheng tells them as he pulls into the airport. A jet waits for them. "Get some rest on the plane, I'll handle your father's debriefing."

There were a few moments of silence before Johnny spoke up. "So, Jen. What did you think of your first mission?"

"Just like the simulations."

The two brothers laugh hollowly, the tiring day settling on their backs. 

When they get on the jet, Jeno closes his eyes to attempt to get some sleep. Painted on the back of his eyelids is Dudas' bloody body, with a bullet between his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's chapter 7 :D I hope you guys enjoy! I don't have the best knowledge about guns so excuse any technical errors~ Feel free to ask questions and leave feedback!
> 
> -jmlp<3


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new addition to Jeno

Jeno doesn't sleep that night.

Every time he closes his eyes, the image of the results of his actions live in his mind. 

Bodies, _so many bodies_ , litter the floor. 

The darkness seems to welcome Jeno. _Well done_ , it seems to say. _You've earned your place._

Jeno glances over at the pile of clothes and gear on his bedroom floor, dirty and stained with blood. He wonders if they'll ever wash out. He wonders if he can ever wear them again.

Despite the three showers he had taken, the metallic sting of blood never leaves his nostrils. 

_I guess that's a part of me now._

Jeno glances at the clock. 6:12 A.M.

The sun has begun to rise, tendrils of light wrapping their arms through Jeno's big windows.

He sighs and gets up, accepting that there'll be no sleep for him today.

As Jeno makes his way to his bathroom to take a piss, he catches himself in the mirror.

The bruise on his cheek has now blossomed into a clash of colours. Angry red, muted yellows and soft purples.

It's quite the look, Jeno thinks, huffing out a small laugh. It feels empty, _Jeno feels empty_.

Now he understand why Johnny hadn't left his room after his first kill.

It feels like something inside you has died instead.

Perhaps his ethics? His morals? Or his humanity. 

Something seemed wrong that Jeno was standing, alive, in the comfort of his home, while the men he killed will never be able to rest in peace.

Jeno remembers his father coming into his room after last night's mission, a sick, proud smile on his face.

 _Good job._ His father had said.

Jeno shakes his head and shoves himself back into his room, head spinning.

Suddenly, he desperately needs fresh air. His room is suffocating, the darkness seeming to become a void, sucking the emerging sunlight through its claws.

He stumbles down the winding staircase to the foyer of the family mansion. Jeno skims his hand on the banister, encrusted in a gleaming gold.

Who paid for this staircase? Who paid for the shining marble floor? Who paid for these grand oak doors?

 _His father?_ Jeno snorts. _More like the countless lives of innocent people._

Jeno feels disgusted. He can't help but feel he was born into somebody he despises. A _murderer_.

"Jeno?"

Jeno turns his head, bleary eyes focusing on his brother sitting at the kitchen island.

"Jeno, come eat something."

Jeno walks his way over to the kitchen, feet heavy and back slumped. The scent of pancakes wafts into his nose, but his stomach turns.

Johnny pushes a plate over to him. "Mrs.Kim made them just now. Eat them while they're still hot, you look dead."

 _I am dead_.

Regardless of his inner turmoil, Jeno scarfs down a few bites, hoping it'll make him feel better.

Instantly, he knows he made a mistake.

Jeno runs towards the sink, barely making it in time, before throwing up the small amount of food he hadn't had the chance to digest yet.

"Shit!" Johnny jumps off his stool and hurries towards Jeno. "Jen, are you okay?"

Jeno leans into his brother's touch, groaning.

Johnny tugs Jeno into his arms and Jeno feels his eyes start to burn.

He doesn't remember the last time he cried in front of his brother, but he couldn't care less at the moment.

"Jeno..." Johnny murmurs into his hair.

Jeno doesn't talk, not trusting his voice as he wracks out silent sobs.

As Johnny strokes his hair, Jeno takes big gulps of air, trying to calm himself down.

Johnny leads them back towards the island, helping Jeno sit down. "What's going on, Jen?"

Jeno slumps, head resting on the surface of the kitchen island.

"You know." His voice comes out cracking, wet with tears.

"Yeah, I do know." Johnny's voice is full of empathy, rather than pity, and Jeno is grateful.

His brother puts his hand back on Jeno's head and he can't help but dissolve back into tears.

It feels freeing, letting his emotions out after laying afraid in bed.

But something tells Jeno he has no right to feel sad, to feel guilty. So he says just that.

"I know, Jen, I know." Johnny soothes. "God, I know exactly how you feel. It sounds morbid and insensitive, but all I can tell you is that it gets easier."

"Fuck, it shouldn't though." Jeno presses his palms against his eyes. "This is so _wrong_."

Johnny stays silent, and Jeno knows it's because he agrees. 

"I know I'll get over it." Jeno sighs, nose congested with phlegm. "I know it takes time, but right now it _sucks_."

"Sometimes, I wish I was born in a different family."

Jeno looks up in shock at his brother's confession.

"I mean-Sometimes I wonder what life is like for everyone else." Johnny continues. "And then I realize that in the end, we're all the same."

Jeno's face twists in confusion.

Johnny explains. "At the end of the day, we could be just like everyone else. Sure, we were born in different circumstances, in a different environment, but I like to believe that my actions don't define my character. And I know I sound like I'm making excuses, but we all do things out of love. For our family."

Jeno sits in silence, thinking over his brother's words. "I...I think I get what you're trying to say.'

"Listen, I'm not the best at communicating, but just know that you're not alone." Johnny get's up from the table, grabbing his empty plate. "The world is a lot more dirty than you think."

### 

A firm knock wakes Jeno up from his nap. After his breakdown in front of his brother, Jeno had managed to grasp sleep just barely by its toes. 

He sits up, blinking his eyes clear and they focus on a figure standing in his doorway.

"Sorry to wake you up, Mr. Lee," Mrs. Kim whispers. "Your father is requesting your presence."

"Alright." Jeno rubs his eyes, stretching his arms above his head. "I'll be down in a minute."

His bedroom door clicks shut and Jeno sighs, slumping on his bed frame.

What could his father want at - Jeno checks his clock - 5:28 P.M.?

Regardless, he gets off his bed, slipping on a pair of soft slippers and makes his way to his father's office.

The hallways are quiet, like always. Jeno's soft footsteps echo as he pads his way across the rugs lining the hardwood floor.

He knocks on the office quickly three times. 

"Father? You wanted to see me?"

"Come in."

Jeno opens the door slowly, peering around the office. His father sits at his large oak desk, looking down through his glasses at a stack of documents.

"Shut the door behind you."

Jeno obediently closes the door, before taking a seat on one of the plush, leather chairs, opposite of his father.

They sit in silence for a while, before his father finally puts down the papers. 

"Congratulations on successfully completing your first mission." His father says, lighting a cigar elegantly.

"Thank you." Jeno replies, confused as to why his father had called him just to congratulate him. Especially since he had previously already said those words the night of the mission.

"I think we should celebrate." Dongmin lets out a puff of smoke. 

Jeno stares at the cloud and his father holds out a pack of cigars, offering.

"Dad, I'm a minor."

Dongmin belts out a loud laugh. "You're right, your mother would kill me."

Jeno frowns, never understanding his father's humour. "What do you mean by celebrate?"

He hopes his father isn't talking about a party. Jeno hates parties, especially ones that are thrown in his favour. After all, Johnny never got a party after his first kill or mission.

Instead of answering, Jeno's father slides the papers he was looking at earlier towards Jeno.

Jeno looks down at them and his eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

Intricate black ink swirls on the paper, a beautiful tattoo design of a dragon staring back at him.

The dragon is breathing out a cloud of smoke, its body skeletal. The detail of the design entrances Jeno, sucking him in. The longer he stares, the more elements of the drawing come alive.

"What do you think?" Dongmin asks, twirling the cigar around in his hand.

"It's beautiful." Jeno breathes.

"Good." Dongmin takes another drag. "Because you're getting it tonight."

"Tonight?" Jeno asks, incredulous. "Yuta's here?"

Yuta was the son of Jeno's father's consigliere, a brave member high in the ranks who also did Johnny's family insignia tattoo.

Dongmin nods. "He'll arrive at 8:00 P.M."

Jeno blinks. A tattoo? The family insignia? He thinks back to when Johnny got his own symbol carved into his chest and realizes he really is around the age to receive his identifying ink.

Jeno's father takes his glasses off, crossing his legs in his seat. "You have until Mr. Nakamoto arrives to decide where you want the insignia."

Jeno nods, getting up from his seat. He takes his father resuming flipping through documents as a cue to leave. 

Jeno takes the papers of the design, neatly arranging the corners to match.

Just as he opens the door to the office to exit, his father calls out again.

"Oh, and Jeno?"

Jeno turns his head to make eye contact with his father, who stares straight into his soul.

"Be proud. Soon, you'll be marked with your new identity. A Neo soldier."

Jeno gulps, forcing a wobbly smiles onto his face. "I am. Proud, I mean. Thank you."

He quickly exits the room and runs up the foyer stairs, skidding to a stop in front of Johnny's room.

He enters without knocking, greeted with the image of his brother sprawled on his bed in front of his computer.

"Jen?" Johnny looks up from his laptop. "What's up?"

Jeno holds up the papers in his hand, climbing onto the bed. 

Johnny raises his eyebrows. "Is that what I think it is?"

"What? What is it?"

Jeno looks over at the laptop screen at the new voice and sees Taeyong's face. "Oh! Hi, Taeyong."

Taeyong ignores his greeting. "Holy shit, are those your tattoo designs?"

Jeno nods, a grin painting his face. As much as he despised the way his father talked about the whole event, like it was some sort of _branding_ , Jeno was excited. 

"Yeah, they are."

Taeyong squeals. "Let me see!"

Jeno holds the paper up to the camera. Despite the pixelated resolution of the video call, Taeyong gasps.

"Wow."

"Wow, indeed." Johnny agrees, taking the papers from Jeno's hands. "This is sick. Maybe even better than mine."

"It's most definitely better than yours." Jeno sniffs. 

Johnny rolls his eyes. "Have you decided the placement, yet?"

"Kind of." Jeno has been thinking about this from time to time, since he first learned that one day he'll get his insignia. "I want it on my back."

"Your back?" Johnny sounds surprised.

Jeno nods. 

Johnny hums. "I assume Yuta will do it?"

"Oh, fun." Taeyong sighs through the camera. "I haven't seem Nakamoto in ages."

"He's too busy causing trouble in the Japan HQ, I guess." Johnny laughs.

"You've got to send me a picture right after, Jen." Taeyong says, sternly.

"Sure." Jeno lays down flat on the bed, holding the papers above his face. He inspects every inch of the tattoo. "I'm excited."

"It's going to hurt like a bitch."

Jeno glares at Johnny. "Fuck, you're so annoying."

Johnny throws a pillow. "Stop swearing so goddamn much."

Jeno huffs, flopping over on his belly. "Will it actually?"

"Will it actually what?"

"Hurt?" Jeno murmurs, tracing the dragon over with this fingers.

"Of course. Did you think it wouldn't?" Johnny rolls his eyes aggressively. 

"Keep rolling your eyes so much and one day they won't unroll." Taeyong says, munching on a bag of chips.

"Shut up. That doesn't even make any sense. How would my eyes _unroll_? That sounds gross. I'm hanging up, I hate you."

### 

_Ding-Dong!_

Jeno and Johnny looks up from their Uno cards, staring at each other in silence for a second, before jumping up and running towards the foyer.

"Mr. Nakamoto! Good to see you again." Mrs. Kim greets Yuta at the door.

"Mrs. Kim! Looking gorgeous as ever." Yuta Nakamoto stands in the foyer, long hair tied back in a man bun. His brilliant white teeth flash when he smiles, kissing Mrs. Kim on the cheek.

"Are you flirting with the staff, Nakamoto?" Johnny says sternly, despite the smile that makes his way onto his face.

"Johnnyboy!" Yuta embraces Johnny, dropping his bag onto the floor.

Jeno walks closer and Yuta notices him quickly. "Well, well, well. Look who's all grown up."

Jeno lets out a soft _oof_ at the bone crushing hug he receives. "Long time no see, Yuta."

Yuta ruffles Jeno's hair. "Alrighty, big man. You ready for your session?"

Jeno nods. 

"Lead the way then, kiddo"

Jeno brings Yuta to him bedroom and watches in wonder as the Japanese man begins to set up his equipment.

"How long will it take?"

Yuta doesn't look up from his work. "Depends how big you want it."

Jeno thinks in silence before speaking up again. "I want it big."

"I hope you're fine with staying up past your bedtime." Yuta grins.

Johnny lets out a laugh from where he's sitting on Jeno's desk, mouth full of cookies.

"Gross, Johnny. Close your mouth when you chew." Jeno wrinkles his nose in disgust at the crumbs dropping onto his bedroom floor.

Yuta pats the bed, motioning for Jeno to get on. In his hand is a giant stencil. "I assumed you would want it big so I pre-made the stencil. You've always been an overachiever after all."

"...Thanks?" Jeno frowns.

Yuta motions for Jeno to take off his shirt and Jeno obediently shrugs the t-shirt he's wearing over his head.

"Jesus." Yuta whistles at the bruises littering his sides. "Rough mission?"

"You could say that." Johnny chirps from his corner.

Yuta hums, before slipping on a pair of latex gloves. "Okay, kiddo. Where do you want this?"

"Here." Jeno runs his hands over the left side of his back, near his shoulder.

Yuta places the stencil onto the skin and Jeno tries not to shiver at the cold sensation of the transfer paper.

Peeling off the paper with expert hands, Yuta holds up a mirror for Jeno to see. "Is this placement okay with you?"

Jeno nods, staring at the large dragon covering half of his body. It was huge, intimidating and loud. "Perfect."

"Let's get started, then." Yuta grins, taking the tattoo gun into his hands.

Jeno takes a deep breath and tries to relax, resting his chin on his arms as he lies on his stomach.

The machine starts, a whirring noise filling up Jeno's room.

"I hope you have a high pain tolerance." Yuta says, voice way too smug. "For your sake."

The needle penetrates the skin on Jeno's back, sending vibrations up his spine. 

Jeno bites a scream back. " _Fuck._ Ok. No warning, then?"

Yuta doesn't reply, moving the needle quickly.

Jeno closes his eyes, trying to ignore the stinging sensation on his back.

For a while, there's silence besides the noise of the tattoo gun and Johnny's annoying munching.

Finally, Yuta stops for a break. He snaps off the gloves, taking a sip from his water bottle. "How was that, champ?"

"Not bad." Jeno says, a smirk ghosting his lips. "Not bad at all."

"Good, because we've only done one line about five inches long."

" _What?!_

### 

Jeno wakes up to an intense pain. His body jerks, only to be held down with firm hands.

He panics, before quickly relaxing when he sees Yuta.

"Don't move, dipshit." Yuta warns. "Or else your dragon will look like a dog."

Jeno stills at that and Yuta resumes working. 

"I'm surprised you fell asleep." Yuta murmurs.

Jeno yawns, vaguely registering the hints of sunlight peering through the window. "What time is it?" 

"Five in the morning."

Jeno's eyes widen comically. "What? It's taking that long?"

"Nah." Yuta fills in a large spot with steady hands and Jeno swears in pain. "I took a quick nap."

Jeno huffs and looks over to Johnny passed out on his chair. "Good to see Johnny is comfortable."

Yuta laughs. "Don't worry, we're almost done. I'm just doing some finishing touches, mostly shading. This part will hurt a bit more."

Jeno groans, flopping his head back on his pillow.

True to his word, Yuta shuts off the machine fifteen minutes later. He wipes the excess ink from the tattoo and Jeno hisses at the stinging sensation.

"Okay, kiddo, I'm going to seal it. It'll probably bleed some ink over the next few days but that's normal." Yuta informs him. "I'll leave whatever balms and wraps you'll need, so you better fucking take care of it."

Jeno nods and Yuta carefully places a clear bandage on Jeno's back. Yuta quickly snaps a picture and shoves the phone over.

Jeno's breath catches in his throat. The tattoo is beautiful, the dragon elegant, yet fierce. It was incredibly intricate, tendrils wrapping over Jeno's shoulder, emerging on his collarbones and left arm. The dragon's eyes seems to speak, containing emotion Jeno didn't know a drawing could have.

"Holy shit." Jeno breathes.

"Holy shit." Johnny echoes, woken up from his nap.

Yuta smiles smugly. "It's gorgeous, isn't it?"

Jeno nods. "More than gorgeous."

"Good." Yuta starts to pack his equipment. "I've got business to attend to, so I won't be staying. Johnny, make sure that tattoo gets proper aftercare."

"I can take care of it." Jeno protests, sitting up and wincing at the slight discomfort.

"We'll see about that." Yuta looks over his shoulder.

"Aw, leaving so soon Nakamoto? Yong wanted to see you." Johnny says, following Yuta down to the foyer.

"Tell that son of a bitch that I'm sick and tired of him." Yuta says, flatly.

"Don't be like that." Johnny whines, showing his rare cute side.

"Gross." Yuta shrugs the hand off his shoulder, smiling despite his words. "I'll get in contact once I'm free, okay? We can catch up then."

"Promise?" Johnny frowns.

"Promise." Yuta laughs. "Bye! See you soon!"

"I'm holding you to that promise!" Johnny calls after him.

"Bye, Yuta!" Jeno waves from the top of the stairs, still shirtless.

The brothers watch the Japanese man get into his sports car, zooming away Nakamoto Yuta fashion.

"Alright, Jen. Let's get you to bed." Johnny ushers his little brother back into the bedroom.

Jeno lets himself get babied, just for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, not a lot happens this chapter. >.< I felt inspired to write this, just because I have a tattoo of my own. Jeno will be back on his high school shit next chapter!! I hope you enjoy this short update. Feel free to leave feedback and comments! They genuinely motivate me :DDDD
> 
> -jmlp<3


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeno goes back to school

Jeno doesn't return back to Crestview until Friday. It gives him one day to rest and relax.

And argue with his father.

Dongmin had ordered him to stay at home longer, but Jeno had insisted on not missing more school than he already had.

"I'm not arguing about this with you." His father had said, after Jeno had walked into his office, proposing the idea. "You should know it's too risky."

"Dad, I've already missed so much school! I'm falling behind on my work." Jeno frowned.

"What, like that matters?" His father had sneered, a mean expression painted on his face as he peers down at his son. "Has school got you all confused about where you stand? You think you're gonna graduate, go to university, get a degree and then a 9-5 job?"

Jeno had blinked at his father in confusion. For _fucks sake_ , it really wasn't that deep.

"Dongmin, just let him go back to school." His mother coaxed her husband, gently, placing a calming hand on his arm. "I'm sure Jeno simply misses his friends."

Dongmin scoffed. "Friends, huh? Wait until they see that tattoo along with the bruises on your face. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. Next thing you know, we'll have a shit storm coming for us."

"Dad, they're literal civilians." Jeno had retorted, a little irritated that his father was being paranoid and projecting his own personal fears onto his son, causing him to speak harshly. "They don't know about Neo and they _won't_ , because you're being overly paranoid."

" _Overly paranoid_?" His father took a step towards him and Jeno backed away from the intimidating presence looming over him. "I'm your _father_. You do what I say and you don't complain. I did not raise you to speak to me like this and I did not raise you to be this idiotic."

"Idiotic?" Jeno felt his frustration boil, threatening to spill out of his mouth in words he knew he would regret. It was just like his father to cast Jeno's feelings aside. Neo was and always will be his father's top priority, Jeno think bitterly. "I don't mean to be disrespectful for voicing my opinions, because time I checked, I'm your _son_ and _you_ are the one who agreed to send me to school in the first place to get a fucking education! If you think I'm so idiotic, let me go back to school then!"

"I said you could attend under your mother's insistence that you need friends _your age_ which, in fact," Dongmin turns to glare at his wife. "I high disagree with."

 _Fuck it._ Jeno is sick of hearing his father's words clouded by a power complex. "I do need friends my age because you raised me around murderers and you yourself has set no positive role model for me to look up to. I'm happy when I'm with my friends and you know what would make them suspicious? Me suddenly disappearing, and just so you know, they _would_ come look for me because at least they give a shit about me!

Jeno knows there was barely any truth to his words, he really doesn't know if they would wonder where he went, much less look for him. However, he felt the need to stand up to his father, who was shooting his words down like the tyrant he's always been.

"Yeah, is that what your friend Lucas told you?" His father snaps, spit flying and veins protruding from his neck in anger.

Jeno's mouth snapped shut at that. His eyes move to his brother's closed bedroom door, who undoubtedly could hear them arguing in the foyer.

" _Dongmin_!" Jeno's mother snapped. 

Jeno's father frowned, creases forming between his eyebrows. "Don't forget what I warned you and your brother about. This is precisely why I didn't want to send them to school, Joohyun! Look what happens when we trust people outside of our family!"

"Dongmin, stop it!" Jeno's mother has her hands balled into fists, obviously frustrated with her husband.

"Look at the way he's speaking to me! They don't need _friends_ , Joohyun! Friends don't keep you alive!" Dongmin spits, waving his hands angrily.

Joohyun looks at her son, exasperated. "Jeno, honey..."

Jeno marches up the stairs, ignoring his mother's calls and slams the door to his brother's room shut behind him. 

"Who the fuck do you think you are, Jeno Lee? Get back down here right now!" His father yells from the foyer.

"No! I'm not talking to you because all you care about is your fucking work and not your sons! I'm done arguing with you about my life! Sorry that you've been betrayed so many times in your life that you have trust issues, even when it comes to your own sons! I'm going back to school whether you like it or not because this is my life and I no longer care what you think!" Jeno yells back. He hears a crash and he knows his father has broken yet another piece of furniture. Jeno's hand shake in anger, along with fear, knowing he'll get a beating the next time he sees his father. He's been wanting to snap at his dad for so long that all his words and thoughts had spilled out before he could stop them.

Johnny's sitting up on his bed, headphones in and arms around one of his pillows. He looks up when he hears Jeno walk in, eyes displaying that he had heard everything. "I really didn't know about Lucas."

"I know." Jeno leans his back on the closed door. "No one did."

"Dad's not gonna let us go back. Not when Lucas is there."

Jeno stands in silence, head swarming with thoughts.

"What does this mean for Neo? I mean, if Lucas had known we were Neo's heirs, wouldn't Red Phoenix have done something by now?"

Johnny sighs. "It's not that hard to figure out that we're a part of Neo, especially since we use our real identities in school. As much as I hate to admit it, our father has a point. Maybe school isn't the wisest choice."

"No." Jeno says, shaking his head. "I don't want to end up like _him_. If I continue doing nothing but train and work in this fucking organization, I'm going to end up just like our father. Lonely, sad, and angry. I don't want to live my life the way he does."

"Jen, we weren't exactly born into a life full of freedom and choices." Johnny takes his headphones out of his ears, stretching his arms above his head. He looks out of his window as he talks to Jeno, mind seemingly elsewhere. "If anything, we have to accept the fact that we're raised to take over our father's place, whether we like it or not."

"I won't let him control my life. Our lives." Jeno walks over to the window and stares right into his brother's eyes. "He might think he can treat us like his puppets, but at the end of the day, we _are_ Neo's heirs. He needs us just as much as we need him."

Johnny gets up from his bed, walking over to Jeno to ruffle his hair. "Hey. Stop that. Leave the complicated thinking to me, yeah? When did you start worrying so much?"

Jeno shoves Johnny's hands off his head. "You should know things change after you have blood on your hands."

His brother's face falls flat at that and Jeno feels something akin to guilt wash over his body. "Sorry, I just-"

Johnny cuts him off. "Listen, Jen. Mom will talk to Dad, okay? If we do go back to school, we'll figure out for ourselves if it's safe. We can start making our own choices, okay? It'll be me and you against Dad. Don't get it twisted, in the end blood is thicker than water. Family always comes first. I would leave my friends at Crestview in a heartbeat if it meant keeping you safe."

Jeno's eyes sting a little, but he pushes any waterworks back. Crying in front of his brother was a once a year type of occasion. "I know, Johnny. Me too."

### 

Friday morning, Jeno and Johnny pull into the school parking lot, mood damp inside of the car. They drove in silence, the only noise coming from the streets surrounding them. 

They were late, having had yet another argument with their father that morning. Jeno heard the shrill bell ring from inside the school, signalling the end of class.

"So much for making it for first period." Jeno huffs, grabbing his backpack and shrugging it onto his shoulder.

As he and Johnny make their way into the school's foyer, Jeno spots some students staring at them from inside the classroom. He shifts uneasily, walking a little quicker. Jeno mutters a quick goodbye to his brother before parting to his second period class. Jeno walks into the boys locker room, phone in hand.

nana: heard you're back!!  
nono: how'd u know?  
nana: gossip~~~~~  
nono: ppl gossip ab me?  
nana: maybe~~~~ :P 

Jeno rolls his eyes, pocketing his phone. It never fails to amaze him how much high schoolers make gossiping part of their personalities. He's never seen any teenagers so passionate about butting their nose in other's people's business. It didn't help that his brother had somewhat formed a reputation for himself the two years he had attended Crestview previously.

Jeno opens one of the lockers, shoving his bag in before shrugging his shirt off. It gets stuck around his head, and he wiggles his arms pathetically. The locker room doors bang open and Jeno hears a group of boys enter the room, loud and boisterous. He wiggles a little harder and finally untangles his head from his shirt, looking around at the students who just entered. They're immersed in conversation, laughing and hitting each other in true, teenage boy fashion. 

Jeno rummages through his gym bag, searching for his gym tank. 

"Yo, Lee!"

Jeno looks up and spot's Donghyuck's red hair heading towards him. "Oh, hey, Donghyuck."

"What's up, dude?" Donghyuck reaches a hand out and they dap each other up. "Good to see you back!"

"Missed me, huh?" Jeno finally finds his tank top, reaching deep into his bag to snag it. 

"You wish. Can't speak for Jaem, though." Donghyuck cackles, teeth shining wickedly.

Jeno rolls his eyes, choosing to ignoring Donghyuck's last remark, hiding his blush in his locker. He doesn't understand why everyone persists on mentioning the pretty boy around him,. He starts to put on his tank before a cold hand slaps his back. Right on his healing tattoo.

"Ow, _fuck_!" Jeno yelps, jumping back from Donghyuck, whose offending hand was still outstretched. 

Donghyuck smiles sheepishly. "Oh, shit, sorry. Is that new?"

"Dude, is that a tattoo?" One of the boys walks up behind Donghyuck, taking a swig from his water bottle. 

Jeno hastily finishes putting his tank top on, but the corners of his tattoo still show on his collarbone and arm. "Uh...yeah."

"That's sick! Do your parents know?" The guy stares, eyes wide.

Jeno nods slowly, a bit uncomfortable at the attention. The commotion had attracted the eyes of the rest of the boys in the change room. "Yeah, they do."

"No way." The guy stands in shock, looking a little dumbstruck. "My parents would _never_."

Jeno stands there, half smile on his face, not really knowing how to respond. So much for keeping low-key.

"I'm Felix." The guys extends a hand and Jeno daps him up as well. 

"Nice to meet you. I'm Jeno."

"Yeah, I know." Felix goes back to sipping from his water bottle. "Johnny's lil bro, right?"

Jeno nods affirmatively, a little miffed that he's only known as _Johnny's little brother_

"Cool." Felix grins. "I'm gonna bounce now, but it was nice meeting you!"

"Yeah." Jeno replies lamely, watching Felix walk back over to his large group of friends. 

Donghyuck slams Jeno's locker shut. "Sorry about Felix, he's a bit of a social butterfly."

Jeno shakes his head. "Nah, it's fine. I was just surprised."

"Anyways, you would _not_ believe what Jisung did in the cafeteria the other day." Donghyuck and Jeno walk towards the gym, Donghyuck filling Jeno in on anything he missed. Although Jeno genuinely could not care less, he listens quietly, offering reactions when prompted. 

Gym passes by in a blur and soon enough, lunch time arrives. Jeno walks to the cafeteria with Donghyuck, once again listening while the red head rants about whatever event is the buzz of the school at the moment. Currently, it's about a freshman foreign exchange student named Priscilla who tried to ask Jaehyun out a few days ago.

"I mean, what did she expect? She literally has never talked to him and she thought he would just say yes?" Donghyuck scoffs, leading them to the lunch line. "For fucks sake, he has a boyfriend!"

The lunch ladies stare disapprovingly at Donghyuck, obviously annoyed at his language.

"What's up, Fran." Donghyuck greets one of the lunch ladies. "You think you could throw in an extra pudding for me today?"

Fran looks up at Donghyuck, scooping a portion of rice for him. "No can do, delinquent."

"Aw, come on." Donghyuck whines. "I sprained my ankle in gym today, I deserve it!"

Jeno watches in amusement, knowing very well Donghyuck's ankle was in perfect shape.

Fran adjusts her glasses with a gloved hand, peering at Donghyuck from head to toe. "You look fine to me. You certainly sound fine if you're still here holding up the line with your complaining."

Donghyuck huffs, before moving down the line. 

The two boys pay and head towards the lunch table. Jisung catches their attention, waving his hands wildly. "Come here! Hurry, come!"

Jeno sits down. "What's the matter?"

" _Look!_ Jisung points frantically at the table near theirs.

Jeno turns around and sees that Jisung is pointing at his brother's lunch table. A quick scan of the group and Jeno notices that Lucas is not there. Something in Jeno's stomach settles. A blonde girl is standing there, lunch tray in hand. She's talking to Jaehyun, who has a very annoyed looking Doyoung attached to his arm. 

"Oh my god!" Donghyuck cackles, hitting Jaemin's arm repeatedly. "Dude, no way!"

"Ow, Donghyuck!" Jaemin shoves his friend back. "Stop hitting my arm, you gremlin."

Donghyuck ignores Jaemin's insults, too amused to care. "Look at her, Jesus Christ! Poor girl!"

Jeno looks back over at the table, shoving a bite of rice in his mouth as he watches the scene in front of him.

Jaehyun says something to the girl, a sheepish look on his face while he rubs the back of his neck. Doyoung looks like he's fuming, hands tightly holding onto Jaehyun's arms. The girl shakes her head, waving her hand in a motion as if telling Doyoung to scoot over in his seat. Doyoung snaps back, saying something so passionately that the veins in his neck stand out. The girl stomps her foot before sitting on the seat next to Jaehyun, half on his lap. Doyoung's jaw drops open and Jeno watches at Johnny's head flips backwards, a hearty laugh echoing through the loud cafeteria. 

Donghyuck and Jisung screech with laughter, writhing in their seats.

"Holy shit, she's got balls!" Donghyuck claps his hands like a seal as he laughs.

Jisung holding onto Chenle, shaking the poor boy aggressively. "This is too fucking hilarious, Jesus, I'm stroking out."

Jaemin and Jeno are the make eye contact, both of them with amused smiles on their face. There's a loud stomping noise and Jeno turns and watches the blonde girl, who he assumes is the infamous Priscilla, stomp out of the cafeteria, throwing her lunch in the trash, along with her tray. A lunch monitor shouts after her.

"What a shit show." Donghyuck wipes at his eyes, wet from laughter. 

"I feel bad for her." Jaemin says, although he too, is still smiling. 

"Honestly, we all saw it coming." Donghyuck sips his juice box. "She really thought she could sit with the Gang."

Jeno startles in his seat, mind racing. "The _what_?"

Jisung waves his hand dismissively. "It's just a dumb nickname the school has given your brother's friend group."

Jeno blinks, one, twice, then thrice. "What the fuck?

Jaemin puts his head in his hands. "Jesus, Jisung."

"What?" Jisung exclaims. "I said nothing but the truth."

Jeno snorts, heart resuming beating at a normal pace. If only they knew how ironic the nickname was. He'd have to talk about this with Johnny later. "Fuck, this school is lame."

Jaemin groans in agreement.

Jeno shakes his head in amusement, pushing his food around with his spoon.

"Anyways," Jisung drawls out the "s" sound. "There's some talk going around about Jeno."

Jaemin perks up at that, abandoning his lunch. 

Jeno looks at Jisung. "What?"

"People are talking about how you have a _tattoo_." Jisung says, leaning forward in curiosity.

Jeno scoffs. "Why is that such a big deal?"

"You know how Crestview is." Jaemin replies. "Everybody is in everybody's business."

Jeno hums. "I guess. Yeah, I do have one. What about it?"

"Lemme see!" Jisung bounces in his seat and Jaemin, although he tries his hardest not to show it, also stares at Jeno in curiosity.

'Uh..." Jeno shifts uncomfortably. As much as he's proud of his tattoo and wants to show it off, his father's words echo in his head. After the fiasco with Lucas, he can't help but be extra cautious.

"Jeno."

The boys sitting at the table look up at the voice, Johnny towering over them. 

Jisung blanches, sitting back straight in his seat.

"Yeah?" Jeno asks, confused why his brother is here.

"Can I steal him for a second?" Johnny shoots a quick smile to Jeno's friends.

"Y-yeah, sure! Of course!" Jisung replies, staring at Johnny with wide, starstruck eyes.

Jeno rolls his eyes and gets up, following his brother out of the cafeteria. 

"Holy shit, I just talked to Johnny Seo!" Jeno hears Jisung exclaim from behind him. Jeno huffs, he'll never understand Jisung's fascination with his brother.

When they arrive at the hallway, Johnny turns to look at Jeno. His face is grim and Jeno steps back in surprise.

"You couldn't even hide it for one day?" Johnny demands, arms crossed.

"What?" Jeno's eyebrows furrow. "What're you talking about?"

Johnny pokes Jeno's chest and Jeno winces at the sting. "The fucking tat, bro."

"Ow." Jeno rubs his chest. "I had gym! What was I supposed to do, not change?"

Johnny flicks his forehead. "At least don't change in front of your whole entire class!"

"I didn't mean to." Jeno retorts indignantly. 

Johnny stares at his brother, arms still crossed before he finally sighs, unable to stay mad at Jeno's pouting. "Shit, just be careful, okay? It's, like, our first day back."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry." Jeno continues to rub his chest where he'd been prodded at.

"Sorry, did it hurt?" Johnny asks, a look of concern falling on his face.

Jeno shakes his head. "No, I'm fine. Don't worry."

Johnny nods and when Jeno arrives back at the lunch table, all eyes are trained on him. 

"What?" Jeno asks, confused as to why everyone looked so curious. 

"What was that about?" Jaemin asks, munching on an apple.

"Nothing." Jeno says, looking over his shoulder at Johnny, who was seated back at his own table and was arguing with Jaehyun over something. Jaehyun throws his hands up in exasperation and Jeno sees his brother's shit-eating grin. "We just talked."

"Okay." Jaemin shrugs. "Anyways, while you were gone, we were talking about going out after school. You in?"

"Uh, sure." Jeno makes a mental note to let Mr. Park and his brother know. He doesn't have anything important to do after school and he'd yet to hang out with his new friends. 

"Sick!" Jaemin grins at Jeno, causing the boy to flush and look away. Donghyuck stares at Jeno in silence.

"Where's Mark?" Jisung asks loudly, scanning the cafeteria.

"He got lunch detention." Donghyuck sighs. "He wouldn't tell me why though."

"Mark broke the window to the second floor history classroom with his basketball during break." Chenle announces, tapping away at his phone. "And before you ask, I know because I was in the classroom when it happened."

Jaemin opens and closes his mouth like a fish. "Excuse me?"

"Calm down, Jaem. Your mother instincts are showing." Donghyuck teases.

Jaemin flips him off but doesn't say anything, mostly because they all know there was some truth to Donghyuck's words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry not much happens in this chapter as well. Honestly, I've hit a block, so I won't be updating as frequently now. I started this work without a clear timeline of events and I've been winging it as I go. I'll try my best to get past this block and continue writing better content for you all! Feel free to leave questions or comments~
> 
> -jmlp<3


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